Advent Drabblender (Nostalgia Edition)
by Adins
Summary: A collection of Christmas-themed drabbles inspired by a community event back in 2011 on the Shitennou-Ai LiveJournal. I'll be posting one per day until Christmas! Mostly fluffy short fics featuring the Senshi & Shitennou. Mix of modern setting & Silver Millennium.
1. Introduction

**Advent Drabblender 2011**

**- Introduction -**

Hey all!

So a few years back this splendid community on LiveJournal called Shitennou-Ai had an event called the Advent Drabblender. It was a yearly event for a while, but it has gone into hibernation since 2011 which is coincidentally the first year I participated.

Every day for the month of December a new Christmas-themed prompt was issued be it in the form of text, images, video, or music. At the time I only managed to get something written for maybe a quarter of the prompts, but in celebration of the season I went back through the archives and filled out all the missing pieces from that year.

I'll be posting my drabbles, one per day, for the rest of the month. For the most part these take place in a modern setting, but there are some that occur during the Silver Millennium as well. I hope my meager contributions get you in the holiday spirit and, as always, I hope you dig it.

Cheers!

-A

PS: I'm only one of a great many fantastic authors who contributed to this event, so head on over to Shitennou-Ai and have a look at all the other great drabbles from that year!


	2. Day One

**Day One**

**Who: **Rei, Jadeite  
><strong>When: <strong>Modern  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>_"Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is..."_

* * *

><p>"You again."<p>

She wasn't surprised, so she didn't form the sentence as a question. Rei Hino could not afford to waste time being rhetorical. She was a busy woman with busy woman things to do and she was utterly unwilling to let anyone encroach upon her important busy-ness. Especially when that someone was a careless drifter whom she had told on at least a dozen occasions since his miraculous return to the land of the living that, no, she would not teach him the ways of the Shinto because he only wanted to learn as an excuse to be closer to her, that he should go back to America because that's where a wandering imbecile like him would feel most at home, and that he needed to dress more appropriately or he was going to catch a cold...

Today he wore dark jeans, a brown t-shirt advertising a beer she'd never heard of, and a tan blazer. No winter coat, no hat covering his blonde curls, no gloves, and the scarf deftly tied around his neck was more for decoration than to keep the cold at bay. Jiro Bartowski (who somehow managed to convince everyone he met to just call him "Jed") looked as though he were dressed to saunter off on an afternoon stroll through Central Park in early autumn, not to brave the punishing chill of Tokyo in December. For a man- no, she corrected herself, a _boy_ who grew up in the sunny glow of Southern California and didn't see snow for the first time until he was 14, he was remarkably unconcerned about the cold.

_Probably because his heart is a block of ice._ She thought with a barely perceptible grin.

"Good morning, Rei!" he greeted her happily as she approached, arms crossed and looking less than enthusiastic about the prospect of seeing him, or speaking with him, or acknowledging his existence in any way.

"Is there some reason you're here, disrupting the tranquility of this shrine?" Rei demanded.

"Oh the shrine is just as tranquil as ever. I would never do anything to disrupt its harmony." Jiro told her honestly, "Only its priestess."

She huffed loudly to alert other patrons of the shrine (of which there were none at this early hour) that she was indeed _very_ disrupted by this man's behavior. Her effort was rewarded by a single snort of muffled laughter from the offending intruder.

"Well since you're here you might as well make yourself useful." she turned forty five degrees on her heels to help sell her indignant attitude and also to hide the fact that she was starting to smile, "The snow needs sweeping. I assume you remember how to do that from the short time you spent here?"

"I never swept, if I recall." the man who once used a demonic bus to kidnap girls from this very shrine replied, "You were always ordering me to make more tea or fetch things for you."

"Oh yes." she sighed enjoying the satisfaction of a good set-up, "You did make a fine retriever."

"And I'm fiercely loyal, too." Jiro added casually, "If we're making canine comparisons."

"You are a dog, Jadeite." Rei confirmed, "All men are."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that." he genuinely frowned. And not at being called a dog.

"Oh." Rei began and took a moment to regain her prickly composure.

She actually did feel a little guilty for taking such a cheap shot, especially now after seeing that dejected look... but even so she was not going to give him the satisfaction of an apology. She had too much invested in their game of bluster and bravado to concede such a victory. She walked past him to a small pavilion where a multitude of wooden plaques hung slowly turning the breeze.

"Perhaps you should purchase an _ema_ and write that wish down?" she suggested with a smile, "For you I"ll only charge double!"

"What a coincidence!" Jiro announced and presented an item that he had been previously hiding behind his back, "I already have one!"

"Grandpa..." Rei grumbled walked back over to the blonde man.

"And he told me he would add a special prayer of his own." Jiro continued with a wink, "Because, and I quote, _"A handsome young man like me deserves to have all his wishes come true!"_"

"Looks like I'll have to start closely monitoring his medication again." Rei sassed and snatched the small wooden object out of Jiro's hand, "So what scandalous thing did you wish for?"

She read the first line:

_ Dear Santa,_

Her brow immediately furrowed and her eyes took on the tint of her fiery element.

"Since you've refused to teach me your Shinto customs including how your pantheon of deities works, I was forced to address my wish to one of my own." Jiro confessed.

"First." Rei seethed, "I find this blasphemy in extremely poor taste. And second, even if I didn't, Santa Claus is not a god."

"God-like, then." Jiro laughed, "He flies, he has magic servants, and he answers prayers!"

"Christmas lists are not prayers!" Rei barked, her anger getting the better of her.

"Prayers, wishes, Christmas lists, whatever!" Jiro tossed his hands out at his sides, "It's all the same superstition."

"It may be superstition to some, but to others these simple rituals are as strong as any faith." Rei argued and she turned to leave, "And I have devoted my life to these beliefs, so if you'll excuse me, I have duties to perform."

"You will hang my _ema_ with the others, wont you?" Jiro called after her, "Surely you wouldn't begrudge a simple pilgrim his wish."

Fighting off the urge to make a wisecrack at _simple_ Rei called over her shoulder, "It doesn't matter. If the gods see fit to grant your wish, they shall."

"Well then." Jiro grinned like a schoolboy and jogged off in the opposite direction, "I must have their favor, because it's already come true!"

She turned, ready to continue their verbal tug of war, but his blonde head was already bobbing down the steps of the shrine. Despite herself, she made a little amused sound and looked down at the wooden _ema_ over in her hands.

_ Dear Santa,_

_ All I want for Christmas is for Rei to scold me for writing this in the first place because she looks so surpassingly beautiful when she's angry._

_ - J_

"Why that little..." she mumbled to herself and hurriedly jammed the little plaque into an inner pocket of her red robe just as her cheeks and the tips of her ears began to take on a similar shade.

Suppressing the need to giggle like a young girl (because she wasn't anymore; she was an important, busy woman!) she stalked over to the little pavilion where the other _ema_ hung and hastily scribbled out one of her own. Unlike her presumptuous visitor, she would have no need to enlist her grandfather's prayers to help her wish along to the _kami_. Her formidable spiritual, not to mention _other_, powers would be more than enough.

_ I wish Jiro would come back tomorrow. I'm not finished with him yet!_


	3. Day Two

**Day Two**

****Note:** **This was an image prompt based on a picture by user Tomeq on Deviant Art that unfortunately I can't link, but if you're web savvy you should still be able to find it on the Shitennou-Ai LiveJournal archives for December 2, 2011.

**Who:** Kunzite, Queen Beryl  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>_Night time on snowy city sidewalk  
><em>

* * *

><p>As he walked down the snowy sidewalk with its streetlights festooned with cheerful garland, the trees wrapped with twinkling lights, and every gate and door displaying an evergreen wreath Kadeen Mohammed al-Jandal, simply known as Ken to his friends (of which there were, by choice, precious few), reflected on how despite his youth growing up in the stifling streets of Tangier and the many years spent traveling across the deserts and arid plains of the Middle East and North Africa how content and comfortable he felt in the cold and snow of a Tokyo winter.<p>

Probably because he once tried to turn the city into a frozen wasteland, but that was beside the point…

Fate had a sense of humor, it seemed, or at least a sense of irony. He didn't dwell on his time in the Dark Kingdom often. In fact he actively sought to avoid those memories and planned to continue doing so unless his experiences would prove useful in combating some future calamity. However, it was never far from his mind that the Middle East, the region he lorded over from the darkness, was where he awoke in this, his third attempt at life. When in his teens he suddenly realized what the gnawing sense of purpose that haunted every step was actually calling him to do, it made seeking out his companions that much easier.

Neil awoke in Alaska and lived the hard life of a crab fisherman on the Bering Sea until he too was pulled by destiny towards something greater. He zig-zagged his way across Canada and the United States doing odd jobs, driving, hiking, drinking, and laughing his way south. Ken had found him in Argentina working maintenance at the Pierre Auger Observatory, spending his days repairing the delicate machinery and his nights secretly scouring the known universe for cosmic rays. Upon their meeting he immediately left his position to follow Ken on his travels.

Zora awoke in Switzerland bearing the name Sigmund, but he refused to go by that name anymore after meeting Ken, Neil, and Jiro, and declared that Fate had screwed him over by not giving him a name that started with a "Z" and there was _no_ way he would call himself Zigmund. Prior to that, he spent a good deal of time in Paris and London, and a rather excessive amount of time in Amsterdam which is where he met Ken and Neil on their journey East. By the time they met he was working as a freelance translator and spoke a staggering number of languages.

Jiro had awoken in Shanghai, but soon found himself in California which gave him that all-important Western perspective when he finally traveled back across the Pacific. He spent time in every region of the East, listening and learning and developing the silver tongue and skills of negotiation that would no doubt serve him well in the future. He was the last of the group that Ken met simply because he was already waiting in Tokyo by the time the others arrived.

That was fifteen hours ago when four men from four different continents with a mammoth amount of life experience among them met in a single city around a single table with a single goal: to find their Master and offer their lives to him in recompense for a great betrayal. Their memories were cloudy, but they recalled Endymion as a powerful, regal Prince with a terror streak of compassion for his people. They remembered a great warrior and a stern leader, wise in his judgment, but slow to trust and even slower to forgive were that trust to be broken. They expected no less than the ultimate sacrifice to restore that trust.

Fifteen hours ago Fate in all her infinite humor and irony introduced them to their Master, a man no more regal than a simple family doctor and no more stern than a loving father was required to be. The only memory that aligned was his compassion; now evolved into a compassion for all things which included the reincarnated Shitennou if his grinning, leaping, bear-hug of a greeting was anything to go by. Nevertheless, a lifetime of hardship and incessant searching had prepared Ken for this moment, but when the man who was once Kunzite declared his intention to trade his life in reparation for an ancient sin he was _not_ prepared for his Prince's response: a howl of laughter and a new order to, as he aptly put it, "Chill out."

Ken smiled at the memory. He smiled more often these days, though usually when no one was around because he still had an image of stoic detachment to uphold. The trials of his youth were not forgotten, but they now shared equal company with a new purpose and the promise of a new life full of love and companionship with his Prince, or rather his new friend Mamoru, his radiant wife Usagi and their expected daughter, the three men who where like brothers to him (and who were most likely making an ungodly mess of the apartment they were all sharing since the impromptu homecoming party was still going strong) and, if certain half-whispered stories over several empty bottles of sake were to be believed, a quartet of Senshi who were as yet unaware of their renewed existence.

Part of him was eager to meet those magical, powerful women with whom their small group had apparently shared many happy times in the Silver Millennium, though his memory was still slow to trickle back. The other considerably more rational part of him was terrified. The specter of the Dark Kingdom still loomed large in his mind (those memories still fresh and damnably clear, thanks again Fate) and he worried that the Senshi would simply incinerate them on the spot when and if they ever met. Hey was sure they didn't hold much in the way of respect or admiration for Kunzite, even though he was the only member of the Shitennou to see the error of his ways. Unfortunately it was too little, too late.

Ken had always considered the circumstances of his reincarnation to be a sort of penance. Of course Fate in her whimsy would see fit to deposit the Shitennou in opposite corners of the planet as penniless orphans, scratching out a feeble existence, relying on the (often totally absent) kindness of others, surviving solely through their own determination and the pervasive pull East that they all felt. Yes, he had felt that a life of struggle, sacrifice, and searching was a just punishment for two previous lives of betrayal, but now after meeting his fellows and especially his Prince, his mind began to change. Perhaps it was not a penance; perhaps it was _preparation_.

The four men were older now; they had survived their trials. They were educated, cultured, well-traveled, and beholden to the triumphs and tragedies across an entire world. Perhaps this was the perspective Fate in her fickleness had intended them to bring to their meeting with Mamoru. Perhaps their experiences and struggles would be of use if what Mamoru had told them (albeit heavily slurred after his second bottle of sake) about how the reborn Shitennou would have a chance to be of "great service in the new kingdom" someday. Ken initially chalked it up to drunken giddiness considering the man didn't consider himself a Prince anymore, let alone a King, but now he was not so sure…

That was the thought on his mind when he came upon the Queen.

She was curled up on a snowy bench, her arms wrapped tightly around her slender frame, eyes frozen shut with tears, and shivering under the thin layer of a tattered dress. Her legs were tucked up underneath her and Ken could not tell if she were wearing any shoes, but knowing what he did about living on the streets he knew the shoes were always the first things to go... Her hair was no longer the fiery crimson he recalled, but oily black much like Mamoru's. However, with a downy layer of snow covering almost every strand it might as well have been white. It made her look older, ancient even, and unsettlingly pale.

Fate had obviously prepared a similar test for the woman who once styled herself as the Queen of Darkness. However, where the Shitennou had endured, suffered, and survived, Queen Beryl had not. She who had commanded legions and single-handedly brought down two civilizations now huddled alone on a park bench, frozen and forgotten. Forgotten by all but one, as it now seemed. Ken was never much of a believer in Fate (and neither was Kunzite, despite Nephrite's star-gazing insistence), but if his whole life was simply one long lesson preparing him to serve his Prince once again, as he now felt it was, surely this meeting could not be chance.

He pulled off his top coat and held it out in front of him, marveling at how the length of the thick black garment reminded him of the white cape with jeweled epaulettes that he once wore (and would probably one day wear again). The pressed white shirt and striped vest he was left with would do little to protect him from the wind and falling snow, but it wasn't as if the cold bothered him. He bent down and ran one hand over the woman's head, brushing the cold, wet snow from her hair and restoring its original color. He then draped the coat over the her shivering body and didn't bother (or care) to retrieve the thick billfold from the inner pocket.

"Please try again." Ken whispered before turning to walk back down the snowy sidewalk towards his new life.


	4. Day Three

**Day Three**

**Note:** Hey all, and thanks for reading! Just wanted to clarify one thing quick: these drabbles all take place in the same "Drabble!Verse" I guess we'll call it, but they don't run in chronological order, so expect things to bounce around a bit. Thanks again!

**Who:** Nephrite, Makoto  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Cheesy Christmas Songs_

* * *

><p>Neil Cassidy felt out of place. Not in general, mind you, just <em>now<em>. At this exact moment.

His early life in Alaska was all hard labor and danger every day. He was reared on clean air, towering trees, and majestic mountains. His hands were raw from hauling lines on crab boats. His feet were raw from years spent hiking his way across North America. His throat was raw from the force of his laughter and an almost mythical tolerance for whiskey. He lived a hard life, but he was not necessarily a hard man. He was jovial, quick to anger, but even quicker to forgive. He loved his classic rock and classic cars almost as much as he loved "The Twilight Zone" and "Blade Runner." He loved _life_ and only slightly less than that, he loved staring off into a clear night sky to listen to what the hushed whispers of a universe full of stars had to tell him.

He had traded the clear skies, trees and mountains of his home for the lights and smog of Tokyo.  
>He had traded his classic rock for J-Pop and his whiskey for sake.<br>He had traded his life, a life he loved, for one of service and protection to a man he loved more.

And he didn't regret a thing. Not a god damned thing, because _this_ was where he belonged. As soon as he set foot on the tarmac at Narita International with Ken and Zora he knew this is where he needed to be. Neil was not a man to second-guess or wallow in indecisiveness. He never once thought of what his life could have been if he had simply stayed in Alaska working the boats, chopping wood, and drinking bourbon.

However, as he stood on the sidewalk outside a Wacoal Lingerie shop, he briefly allowed his mind to wander back to the freezing spray of the ocean, the forests and mountains, and ever so casually wondered how in the blue hell he ended up in this situation.

_Because._ He thought ruefully as he stared at the parking garage across the street. _I'm the only other idiot who bought a car._

His Audi S7 wasn't a 440 supercharged Mustang or a 1978 Trans Am a la "Smokey and the Bandit" as he would have preferred, but it was the only other car besides Mamoru's wildly impractical (and aging) Alfa Romeo in their little group. And so today, what was supposed to be his day off, Neil found himself chauffeuring three young women around the city in the first of what was assured to be weekly shopping binges until Christmas.

The first stop: lingerie, because as he was told, "Ami-chan would never buy any herself, so it makes a perfect gift!"

He had already been sworn to secrecy about any of the gifts being purchased, not that he would intentionally ruin the surprise, but just to be on the safe side. Mamoru still tended to react with red-faced, embarrassed discomfort when Usagi was involved with anything that could even be peripherally regarded as sexual. Needless to say, he was more than happy to exchange his place waiting on the sidewalk outside Wacoal with his walnut-haired companion.

Just then, a giggling mass of shining golden Christmas cheer burst through the front doors, odango-tails flailing madly, and arms laden with foil-wrapped boxes and bags. Usagi hit the frosty sidewalk in one stride and immediately slipped on a patch of ice. Gifts flew in Neil's direction and he caught all but one of the packages without even shifting his stance. Usagi fell backwards with a screech, only to be caught by her arms by her two companions and propped right back up again.

"Nice catch!" Makoto complimented him.

Neil replied with a noncommittal nod of his head.

"And you need to slow down, Usagi." Minako told her best friend with a cheerful grin, "It's still three weeks 'till Christmas."

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Usagi gleefully exclaimed, "It's going to be our first Christmas together as one big happy family!"

"You say that as if Neil and the other boys even want to spend Christmas with us." Makoto replied and glanced at Neil with a sly smirk.

He simply shrugged in response.

"Oh of course they do!" Usagi declared and turned to address the party in question, "You're all coming whether your like it or not and no being a Mr. Grouchy-Pants about it!"

At that Neil only smiled and offered another nod of his head.

"Yeesh it's cold out here." Minako shivered, "Let's get back to the car, I'm freezing!"

"Me too." Usagi agreed and immediately lurched into, "OOOH! Can we stop somewhere and get some hot cocoa?!"

"Time?" Mina quickly asked and Usagi's face twisted in confusion.

"Wow, I think that's a new record!" Makoto answered as she checked her watch, "Let's see, it's 10:30, so… Yep! Two and a half hours it took!"

"Wait…" Usagi assembled the pieces as they crossed the street towards the parking garage, "Are you guys _timing_ me about when I ask for cocoa?"

"Well…" Makoto stalled and looked innocently up at the sky.

"Mako-chan!" Usagi cried, heartbroken at such a betrayal.

"Technically any food at all." Minako pointed out in her intensely cheery manner, "But specifically hot chocolate since its winter and you usually ask, literally, minutes after stepping outside."

"You guys are so mean!" Usagi pouted and crossed her arms defiantly, now free of obstruction since Neil was carrying all of her wares, "Especially you, Mako-chan! You spoil me with all your delicious cooking, you traitor!"

"Hey, we're just looking out for you." Makoto laughed and then bent forward to whisper, though not nearly quiet enough for the male in their midst not to hear, "We need to make sure you can still fit into all that sexy new stuff you just bought."

"Ha!" Minako's laugh echoed like a choir in the parking garage.

"Wouldn't you love to see Mamoru's face on Christmas morning?" Makoto asked her accomplice. Mina's giggling fit preempted any possibly reply.

"That's it!" Usagi howled, face as red as the foil wrapping that housed said new accoutrements, "Mako-chan, I'm making you sit up front with Neil. We're not speaking."

"Fine by me." Makoto said perkily, sidled up to Neil and playfully elbowed him in the arm, "We're not speaking either."

Neil issued a single amused chuckle in reply.

He was normally a verbose creature, our Neil. As a man with such varied life experience and such an incredible number of miles behind him, he naturally accumulated a wealth of interesting, thought-provoking, and oftentimes hilarious anecdotes that he willingly shared to all who cared to listen. Unfortunately, as mentioned, he currently felt out of place and it manifested in awkward silence.

This was not the first time he had been around the Senshi. After all, it was almost a year since their formal introduction when the foursome reappeared in Tokyo on Usagi's doorstep and offered their lives to her then-newlywed husband. Since then, and while not forming the fast friendships that Zora and Jiro (Or Jed, or whatever the hell he calls himself…) were so proficient at, Neil had established a formal, if somewhat distant acquaintance with the girls. He was always polite and entertaining (especially with some amber assistance) at birthday parties, dinner parties, or the "just-because" parties that Usagi was infamous for hosting, but at those functions he had the other men to play off of and there was always a pervasive sense of community. Now, isolated, he realized that he didn't know the girls as well as he'd thought and, considering their past affiliation as heroes and villains, he was being overly cautious with his words.

The fact that the girl of his dreams was climbing into the passenger's seat of his car wasn't helping, either.

Ken believed, somewhat erroneously, that Nephrite of old left his life in the hands of fate. And while Neil held a passing romantic notion of destiny and shared his ancient self's fascination with the stars, he looked to them more for perspective, not prophecy. He had heard certain whispered tales of the Senshi and the Shitennou and their relationship during the Silver Millennium, but if this new life of his had taught him anything, it was to temper all expectation with a healthy dose of reality.

Then again… she was beautiful. _Way too fucking beautiful. Unfair, really._ She was quick-witted and, during those group interactions, always able to counter his playful jabs with some of her own. _Stop staring at her. _She was fascinated by and reveled in nature, just as he did. _Stop staring at her. _And her motherly nature, the way she stood a head above her princess (as Nephrite did to his Prince) and, even in a happy moment like this, was always standing guard ready to demolish any who would do her friends harm. _STOP STARING AT HER._

But it was the fact that she was a romantic at heart that truly endeared him because (though he would never admit this in male company) he was as well. Neil felt deeply, even if his aloof nature was meant to disguise that fact. He always considered himself to be a reliable man, a steadying hand, good in a crisis and all that. He didn't bare his heart to everyone because that's what others tended to do to him. The song "Lean on Me" could've been written about him. That, he thought, was what made it all the more intimate when he finally did let someone peek behind the curtain. And every time he was around Makoto Kino, he practically wanted to tear them down rings and all.

"Mind if I turn on the radio?" she asked after they pulled out of the garage onto the busy street.

He shook his head.

Immediately after clicking the head unit on Usagi ordered, "Mako-chan, find the Christmas music station!"

"Oh yes!" Minako eagerly agreed, "I want to hear my future husband Josh Groban singing "O Holy Night" in that soulful voice of his! Like an eagle!"

"I think you mean angel, dear." Makoto corrected her.

"Mako-chan, I almost forgot!" Usagi leaned forward and tapped her repeatedly on the shoulder, hoping to annoy, "I heard your favorite Christmas song the other day."

"Oh god…" the ponytailed head shivered with disgust.

"Which one?" Minako asked.

"You know, that cheesy one that she loves so much!" Usagi cackled.

"Hates." Makoto corrected her, "With a burning passion."

"Which one?" was repeated.

"The same one I complain about every year!" Makoto shouted, "I don't remember what it's called."

"Well how does it go?" Mina followed.

"You know it, it's the one…" Makoto began gesticulating wildly in random directions. Neil shifted to one side lest he be accidently slapped, "The one with the… the…"

"Ohh!" the light bulb clicked and so did Minako's fingers, "I know which one you mean!"

"Yeah, _that_ one!" Makoto growled. Usagi snickered, her revenge complete, "Son of a bitch, why can't I think of it?" she paused, "And why would I _want_ to?"

"It's by that guy…" Minako scratched her head, "Ughhh… I know exactly which one you mean!"

"I hate it." Makoto reiterated, "With every fiber of my being."

"Oh I hope it comes on!" Usagi sing-songed.

"Don't you dare!" Makoto threatened and turned to the silent driver, "Neil you know which song I mean, right? It's by that one guy… you hear it every year… it's annoying and I hate it?"

With the numerous clues at his disposal obviously Neil knew _exactly_ which song she was referring to.

""Wonderful Christmastime"" he answered confidently, "By Paul McCartney."

"That—" Makoto was speechless for a moment, "That's it!" she turned around and looked at her surprised, smiling friends, "How did he know that?" She turned back to the man behind the wheel, "How did you know that?"

"Because." He said evenly and stressed every word. "I. Fucking. _Hate_. That. Song."

The S7 erupted into riotous laughter after that and the conversation began to flow. By the time they reached their next destination (which was predictably for hot cocoa) Neil was embroiled in a spirited debate with Minako on how her favorite idol groups stacked up against the likes of The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd while Usagi watched, confused, and Makoto listened, content. Neil reflected on a similarly cheesy expression he'd read on some billboard or another about how you like people for their similarities, but love them for their differences.

Well... this is was one similarity he loved.


	5. Day Four

**Day Four**

**Who:** Mamoru, Shitennou  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Christmas Cookies_

* * *

><p>"Can you please wait to play with your god damned trains until I'm done decorating the tree?" Zora huffed angrily as he tripped for what felt like the hundredth time over Jiro's halfway prone body sticking out feet-first from somewhere beneath their Douglas fir.<p>

"If you'd give me five minutes to find out where the loose connection in the track is, I'd be out of your hair." Jiro returned as he continued maneuvering his way around the circle of brass rails.

"Everyone knows you decorate the tree first." Zora quoted, "Everything else comes after that."

"The tree was decorated an hour ago, now you're just being pretentious." Jiro stated and swiped a bottle that was hidden behind Zora's back.

"Hey!"

"What the hell?" Jiro asked sourly and presented the bottle as evidence, "This is that spray-on fake snow shit."

"Yeah, so?" Zora defended.

"Uhh... fire hazard much?" Jiro sassed, "Aside from the fact that it looks tacky."

"I wasn't going to use a lot of it!" Zora argued and tried to snatch his spray can back unsuccessfully.

"Says the guy who uses half a bottle of conditioner every time he showers." Jiro snickered as Zora ducked and dove for the can.

"Give it back!"

Across the room Mamoru glanced over the edge of his book -a biography on Nikola Tesla of all things- and caught the edge of Ken's glance through his thin reading glasses. The elder men shuffled pages of their respective reading materials and had a private chuckle at the antics of their younger companions.

* * *

><p>The snow was falling faster and traffic was slowing to a crawl.<p>

"God damn everything and everyone." Neil grumbled as he wrung his hands around the steering wheel as though it were the throat of some personified menace that sought to complicate every aspect of his otherwise righteous and awesome existence.

The line of cars slowly lurched forward. Someone in the middle of the intersection who no doubt spent the majority of their adult life having to drive in conditions such as these spun out in the slick slush and got his Subaru stuck in a snow drift. Traffic halted altogether.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

* * *

><p>Jiro's train was now wheeling freely around the loop of track in its mad, eternal bid to catch its own caboose. The tree was finally finished and Zora had mercifully decided to forego the fake spray snow. The lights cast their warming glow through the green boughs adorned with silver, gold and deep red baubles which set every mirrored surface sparkling. It was Neil's suggestion (funded by his personal stash of this sort of paraphernalia) to shun the more modern "midget" style lights and instead deck the tree out with the huge, bulbous, egg-shaped, fire-hazard lights of his youth. They lent a certain nostalgic ambiance to the tree which did not go unnoticed.<p>

"Very nice, Zora." Jiro congratulated his partner in decoration and clinked his coffee mug against his.

"Thanks." he replied and sipped.

"I don't see my disco ball." Mamoru mentioned as he peered around the periphery of their tree.

"You still have that?" Ken asked incredulously.

"Of course I do!" Mamoru replied, very nearly offended.

"It's right there." Jiro pointed at the ornament which was hanging just left of center on the tree, about halfway up.

Mamoru grabbed the bauble, declared that it was buried in among too much tinsel and shoved it forward to a more prominent position on the tree. The round bauble, which was silver and adorned with many mirrored facets, did indeed resemble a disco ball. Mamoru smiled proudly. Zora noticeably grimaced.

"What's the story with that thing, again?" Jiro asked.

"I stole it off the Christmas tree at the orphanage when I was a kid." Mamoru recounted, "But I felt bad about it, so I took it back to my sponsor a few days later and confessed."

"Jesus..." Zora rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I learned a valuable lesson about honesty that day!" Mamoru defended himself, "She was so impressed that I brought it back that she let me keep it!"

"And they say crime doesn't pay." Ken chuckled in a holiday-influenced moment of levity.

"More like the truth will set you free." Mamoru corrected.

Zora only shook his head in perpetual disbelief at yet another shining example of Mamoru's living sainthood. Jiro leaned in, grabbed a pinch of skin on Mamoru's arm and twisted hard.

"OUCH!" he cried and swatted he blonde's hand away.

"Sorry, just checking to see if you squeaked 'cause you're so clean."

* * *

><p>"You've got to be kidding me." Neil groaned and slammed his head off the steering wheel of the venerable Audi S7.<p>

His speedometer hadn't risen above 20 miles per hour in as many minutes. He'd managed a few illegal maneuvers to get back out onto the highway and now found himself firmly planted behind the loudest, smelliest, dirtiest, and of course, slowest snow plow in history.

A big chunk of rock salt thrown by the truck's erratic augur smacked his windshield and left a sizable splatter. He angrily glared at the clock which was reading 9:30PM. The guys were already gathering, he was sure of it. He was going to be late. Again.

"Every god damned year."

* * *

><p>Mamoru and Ken stood out on the porch watching the snow fall by the light of the street lamps. The porch was covered by a roof, but it wasn't enclosed. They were both wearing long-sleeve shirts, but they weren't dressed for cold weather. However, there was no wind, and it was just cold enough for snow without lapsing into deep-winter bitterness. Ken especially loved this type of weather; he was rapt by the stillness and the calm.<p>

"It's quiet." Mamoru observed.

"Mmm-hmm." was Ken's muffled, content answer.

"Good sleeping weather." Mamoru suggested.

"Both for us and the Earth." Ken offered.

"We can only hope." Mamoru replied a bit more melancholy.

"Don't forget to let _yourself_ rest." Ken reminded his oldest friend, "The world is a great weight to carry on your shoulders, despite how few may see you bending beneath it."

"I'll manage." Mamoru smiled and laid a hand on his companion's shoulder, "Besides... I have some help these days."

Ken returned the smile with one of his own just as the door of the house opened. Jiro stuck his head out looking somewhat sullen and requested, "You guys ready?"

"Any word from Neil?" Ken asked to which Jiro offered a negative nod.

"Oh well." Mamoru sighed and reluctantly left the cold serenity of the snowy night for the warm excitement of his home, "Let's get started then..."

* * *

><p>Forty-five minutes later Neil roared into the driveway without much concern for the fact that he might not have had enough traction thanks the snow and could very well have driven the car straight through the garage door. He practically threw himself from the driver's seat, slammed the door with as much force as he could muster, and stalked his way across the yet-to-be-shoveled sidewalk, up the yet-to-be-shoveled stairs, and in through the back door.<p>

He didn't bother to take off his coat or his snow-encrusted boots for that matter. He tracked the mess in through the kitchen and into the living room where his cohorts had already gathered. Zora was bent over in front of the television with a VHS cassette so well-worn that the label could no longer be read. Neil threw his leather-gloved hand into a point and shouted, "STOP!"

"We were just about to start." Jiro defended and stood up to greet the last member of their group, "Late as usual, I see?"

Neil ignored the pleasantries, grabbed the bottle beer out of Jiro's hand, chugged it, and loosed a terrific yuletide belch to the tune of "Jingle Bells."

"I would've burnt this place to the ground if you guys had started without me." Neil promised in his over-the-top, but somehow completely believable way.

"I doubt this thing is even going to work anymore." Zora muttered as he tried to remember how to use a VCR.

"Hasn't let us down in all these years." Mamoru reminded him.

Zora pressed play and immediately the picture on the screen lurched through a static laced CBS Special Presentation logo and the familiar tune of "Linus and Lucy"rolled out from the speakers. A careful adjustment of the tracking cleared up the picture as best as it was going to get for a twenty-year old recording and the gang settled in for the next five or six hours to watch their old, abused, and completely necessary VHS of Christmas specials. Every Rankin-Bass claymation movie, Peanuts, Garfield, the California Raisins, and of course, the George C. Scott version of _"A Christmas Carol"_ which is quite obviously the best.

"Neil." Jiro grunted as he sat down on the couch next to his burly companion, "Where's the goods?"

Neil smiled, reached under his coat and pulled out a brown paper bag which contained a large foil-covered tray. Zora snatched it out of his hand, tore off the foil, and was met by a veritable landslide of Christmas cookies.

"Thank god!" He exclaimed and tore into a peanut butter cookie with a Hershey Kiss planted on top.

"Gimme some of that yuletide cheer!" Jiro gleefully exclaimed and stole a handful of M&M-sprinkled sugar cookies.

Ken, always respectful and restrained, nevertheless grabbed a handful of his own.

All was right with the world.

Almost...

Halfway through _"The Year Without a Santa Claus"_ Ken got up to use the restroom and Mamoru slunk in on the couch next to Neil and glowered at him somewhat angrily.

"Can I help you?" Neil asked woozily. By this time the meager case of Miller in the refrigerator had dwindled to a six pack, mostly by his sole doing.

"I think you're forgetting the true meaning of Christmas." Mamoru spoke icily.

Neil smirked, reached once more into his jacket which he had yet to remove, and pulled out a saucer-sized cookie covered in wax paper. Scrawled on the paper with a green marker was Mamoru's name and little smiley face with a Santa hat.

"Compliments of my wife who still thinks our yearly get-together is stupid, juvenile, and terribly adorable." Neil presented Mamoru with his prize, "Dark chocolate with semi-sweet chips drizzled with 70% cacao ganache."

Mamoru snatched away the circular lump of paper-wrapped decadence, put it up to his nose and inhaled deeply. His left eye and the corner of his mouth twitched as if he'd just had a mild seizure. His face read pure gluttony as he offered Neil a thin-eyed, jealous grin.

"You're one lucky bastard." Mamoru told him.

"I know." Neil gloated, "Merry Christmas."


	6. Day Five

**Day Five**

**Who:** Zoisite, Jadeite, Ami  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _The Perfect Gift_

* * *

><p>"This is impossible!" Zora declared, thumped his fist on the desk and rattled his laptop.<p>

Jiro who was sitting on the couch reading manga on his Kindle craned his head backward and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Ugh." Zora grumbled, "Shopping."

"And you find that difficult?" Jiro was incredulous.

"I'm not shopping for _me_." Zora clarified.

"Ooh!" Jiro exclaimed suddenly more interested in his partner's activities, "Are you picking out my Christmas present?" He threw the tablet down on the coffee table and vaulted over the back of the couch to peer over Zora's shoulder.

"Not shopping for you, either." Zora spoke heavily, "I'm shopping for Ami."

"Well that shouldn't be that hard." Jiro surmised, "Get her a book."

"Very funny." Zora muttered.

"I wasn't joking." Jiro elaborated, "Seriously. Buy her a book. It doesn't even matter what it's about; she'll read it."

"I'm not just getting her a book." Zora refused, "Any idiot can buy a book."

"And we know you're not just _any_ idiot."

"She doesn't really need anything." Zora spoke though mostly to himself, "She doesn't even _want_ anything. What the hell am I supposed to work with?"

Jiro didn't feel like offering up any more suggestions so he fell back on good old apathy, "Sounds like you're shit out of luck."

"Thanks for being such a ray of sunshine." Zora went back to grumbling.

"I thought Ami didn't celebrate Christmas." Jiro wondered.

"She doesn't." Zora replied, "Well not officially, but I guess with the way the other girls get into it, it's tough to avoid." He shook his head quickly and corrected himself, "Not that she would _want_ to avoid it, I mean, not necessarily." He blinked, wrapping himself up in words that didn't really mean anything, "You know what I mean..."

"Uh-huh... sure!" Jiro agreed mildly confused, "So why are you even bothering with gifts?"

"Because." Zora condescendingly answered with an eye-roll for effect, "I have to."

"I do hope dear Ami-chan realizes what a catch you are." Jiro sassed, "So why doesn't she like Christmas?"

"It's not that she doesn't like it." Zora explained, "She didn't really grow up with it."

"Jeez." Jiro mumbled and swatted at a bough of their Christmas tree with one finger, "Poor kid."

"When her father was around he discouraged most major holidays because they were all "_too commercialized"_ for his moody artistic sensibilities." Zora laughed ironically, the majority of his own youth spent wandering the halls of museums, theaters and galleries throughout Europe, "And after he left her mother was always too busy trying to support them to bother."

"Still, though." Jiro frowned, "You've gotta have Christmas."

"Yeah." Zora pondered, "Yeah you do."

He leaped up out of his chair and knocked it over in the same motion as he grabbed his scarf and pea coat and headed towards the door in a mad rush to capture whatever idea was fleeing him.

"You're welcome?" Jiro half-congratulated himself.

* * *

><p>Ami Mizuno arrived home late from work which was not uncommon, clinic days at the hospital being as mercurial as they were with the number of patients she might have to see. The first thing she noticed when she set her keys down on the kitchen counter was that her apartment smelled different; woodsy and with a hint of cinnamon to be exact. She also noticed a curious flickering glow coming from her living room. In hindsight she probably should have been more cautious but instead she shuffled swiftly across the floor into the doorway and beheld a truly moving sight.<p>

Her apartment was not zoned for a fireplace, but that didn't stop some industrious soul from hanging a large flat screen television running a video loop of a crackling hearth on her wall. Standing nearby was a stout fir tree decorated to perfection with an array of twinkling lights and baubles and a small pile of expertly wrapped, multicolored boxes beneath it. The whole room had been outlined in green and gold garland and red, cinnamon-scented candles burned on every available surface. Some unseen radio was playing a soft jazz piano version of "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear."

Zora was standing there with a mug of eggnog in his hand and wearing a ridiculous blue and white snowman-patterned knitted shirt. He smiled lovingly at her and gestured behind him at the work that he'd done.

"I couldn't think of what to get you for Christmas." He confessed to her, "So I just got you Christmas in general. Like… _all_ of it."

She was silent for far too long and her steady gaze which betrayed no emotion never wavered. Zora began fidgeting and thinking of a worst-case scenario. He'd gone too far. He'd unearthed too many painful memories (or a lack thereof). He took a step backwards, but immediately his eyes caught sight of a bright blue blur as Ami closed the distance and sought out his lips to express her reaction in ways words couldn't.

"I didn't even hang the mistletoe yet." Zora grinned after their embrace.

"I should warn you." She whispered, choking up on emotions that were not exactly commonplace for the shy, studious Ami, "You may have bit off more than you can chew."

"How's that?" Zora asked contentedly.

"Now that I have this, I don't want to go a year without it." She smiled sweetly and pulled him close again, "Or you."


	7. Day Five-Point-Five

**Day Five at 11:26 PM**

Hey all!

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been reading an reviewing these drabbles, especially the anonymous folks that I can't PM directly! If you've read any of my other stuff you know that I can sometimes disappear for years at a time (which is why "My Four Kings" STILL isn't finished...) and having such enthusiastic feedback definitely helps me stay motivated.

That being said...

**THE REQUEST LINES ARE OPEN!**

Of the drabbles I originally wrote back in 2011, I've only got five more. I'm writing all the new ones as I go, so here's your chance to personalize some Christmas cheer!

Send me a private message or let me know in a review which characters and/or pairings (and time period) you'd like to see in a future drabble and I'll do my best to work it into the prompts that I have left! If you've got an idea for a situation feel free to send that along as well. If it lines up with one of the Christmas-themed prompts, I'll give it a shot! All I ask is that we keep things PG-13.

Thanks again and stay tuned for more!

Cheers!

-A


	8. Day Six

**Day Six**

**Note #1:** Okay, this one is going to require some explanation so bear with me! First off, this is one of the drabbles I originally wrote back in 2011. The prompt is "What Nikolaus left in the boots" which refers to a German Christmas custom in which children leave an empty boot outside their front door on December 5th and Nikolaus (Saint Nicholas) would fill it with candy and gifts overnight if the children were good. It's similar to putting gifts in Christmas stockings.

**Note #2: **Unlike all the other drabbles in this series, this one takes place in a completely different universe. This is a side-sequel to another short story I wrote a while back called "Shields and Shades" which features Mamoru and Nephrite as stereotypical private detectives in the classic film noir style. You can read that fic first if you'd like (it's short and amusing!), but all you really need to know is that Nephrite in this universe is named Nicholas Overholt, he's miserable most of the time, and he likes his booze...

**Who:** Nephrite, Minako  
><strong>When:<strong> "Shields and Shades"-verse  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _What Nikolaus left in the boots_

* * *

><p>Jesus, my head hurts... This is the kind of drunk I hate most: the kind that requires more work than necessary to maintain. The kind where you've physically exhausted yourself with the act of drinking, but you still don't feel how you want to feel. The kind that makes you forget important shit. I don't even remember how I got my office. At least... I <em>think<em> it's my office. It's dark and my vision is, well, compromised. Happens when one of your eyes is swollen shut. Wish I could remember how _that_ happened.

Wait... Aha! This is _definitely_ my office! Because I feel a bottle of Old Crow in the desk drawer. (Second one down on the left, just so we're clear.) Thank Christ for small miracles...

Speaking of, it's Christmas in the big city: wreaths on all the lamp posts; trees in the park done up and shining like a Swarovski display window; the incessant clang of the Salvation Army Santa's bell drilling a few extra holes in my skull; the vomit in the gutters smelling oddly of eggnog…

It's a time of the year that I don't mind so much as long as I've got something to do to keep my mind off of how much I hate the holidays. This year has not been one of those years. We haven't had a case since the usual round of rowdiness that accompanies Halloween. Had one or two minor calls around Thanksgiving of the domestic variety. Someone blaming Uncle So-and-So for making off with some cherished family heirloom or another to fuel his gambling problem; that sort of thing. Now it's Christmas and there ain't a god damned thing on my list. Nothing naughty. Nothing nice, either.

I'm not saying that the crooks, thieves, grifters, voyeurs, arsonists, murderers, stalkers, winos, hitmen, hoods, hobos, rapists, deadbeat husbands, draft-dodgers, or congressmen suspend all their illicit activities around Christmas, but it certainly seems like they show a bit of restraint in their efforts. I should be heartened by it, but instead I just find myself bored… and drunk.

The failing Christmas tree in the corner of the office is staring at me with eyes of red and green and a lopsided grin of tasteless garland. Our bubbly blonde secretary insisted on spicing up the drab space with some Christmas cheer, but she's done a sorry job of it. I can't bring myself to say anything; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. God, I'd love to hear Mina mangle _that_ aphorism as she has a tendency to do.

And now there are carolers outside my window. One more glass of the old Bird does me in. I grab my coat and hat and bee-line to the door. I pass by Mina's desk where she's been sitting filing her nails for the last three or four years and I'm stopped solidly in my tracks.

"Mina?"

"Huh?"

"Why is there a shoe on your desk?"

My desk really. My partner Darien and I paid for everything in our little slice of heaven on earth.

"Oh!" she realizes, "It's a boot, actually."

"Why is there a boot on your desk?"

"It's Nicholas' boot." She replies perkily.

"Right... I didn't know you were German."

"Huh?" Again.

"You're leaving a boot out for Nikolaus." I quote my pointless knowledge on the subject. I know too much about too many things that I don't care about. If it didn't help in my profession so often I'd opt for voluntary lobotomy, "But it's supposed to go outside the front door."

"Huh?" she repeats vacantly. I swear the majority of her vocabulary is made up of confused grunts.

"It's a German Christmas custom." I explain, "You leave a boot outside your door and Saint Nicholas fills it with toys and candy and some god damned job security."

Mina looks inside the boot. She actually looks, saints help me.

"I really don't think I'd want to eat candy out of this boot." She offers.

"Well he leaves you a stick if you've been naughty." I reply, "And the boot is getting mud all over my nice clean desk, so..." She looks alternately devastated, offended, and, in her usual manner, confused.

"I'm only teasing." I catch myself and turn to leave, "Goodnight, Mina."

"You're going out like that?" she screeches.

"I've looked a lot worse." I tell her as I open the door to the hallway, "Lock up for me."

Halfway down the hall I'm halted by a tugging on my shoulder. I really just want to go home to my uncomfortable couch and my comfortable whiskey.

"At least put this back on and try to make yourself look like less of a hobo." Mina orders me. She has the boot in her hand.

"Excuse me?" I ask, mildly offended despite the accurate description.

"When I said this was Nicholas' boot, I wasn't talking about Saint Nicholas." She tells me. She seems suddenly quite serious and actually a bit put off, "I was talking about _you,_ Nicholas."

"Huh?" Oh god, now I'm starting to do it…

"You don't even remember stumbling in here last night drunk as a skunk with one shoe off ranting and raving about some Amazon woman?" she asks.

"No Mina, I don't. I'm drunk and possibly concussed and-"

I look down at the floor, possibly for the first time in several days. I seem to be missing a shoe. A boot, actually. I also appear to be quite muddy. A cursory glance in the dirty window of my office door reveals that in addition to my black eye I also have, interestingly enough, streaks of pink lipstick coloring my neck. I pick up the boot and tilt it towards me. A small object rolls out and smacks me in the face. Reflexes, though deadened by the Old Crow, kick in and I catch it.

It's a small, pink, rose-shaped earring. Oh dear.

"This Amazon woman I was talking about." I ask Mina while I roll the earring around in my fingers, "You remember her name?"

"Nope!" Mina pops her lips, "You didn't say. But apparently she's about six feet tall with curly brown hair and she throws a better punch than you."

"Sounds like my kind of girl." I smile as a memory and a name suddenly surface.

I pocket the earring and slip my wayward boot back on before continuing down the hallway towards the elevator. I hear an irritated smack of Mina's chewing gum behind me and I hazard a glance over my shoulder.

"And just where do you think you're going?" she asks in a very motherly tone.

"To see what I left in _her_ boots."


	9. Day Seven

**Day Seven**

**Note: **Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday, but I lost my wallet and spent the majority of the weekend driving around searching…

This was another image prompt based on a picture by user Hot Hot Heat on Deviant Art. (Check the Shitennou-Ai LiveJournal archives for December 7, 2011 to see it.) This picture is much more atmospheric and tough to describe than the last one. It's a picture of blurred Christmas lights on one side and a close-up of an ornament on the other. The tone is predominantly blue, so I adjusted the prompt slightly.

**Who:** Makoto, Ami  
><strong>When:<strong> Crystal Tokyo  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>_Blue Christmas_

* * *

><p>Sailor Jupiter looked out over the sleeping, snowbound city and sighed wistfully. Building the utopia of Crystal Tokyo had been the dream of the Sailor Senshi since they were first introduced to the idea (albeit in paradoxical time-traveling sort of way) in their youth, but as the Great Sleep now stretched into its second year she became acutely aware that, as a song a certain absent man once played her a little drunkenly on a beat up acoustic guitar says, the waiting is the hardest part…<p>

Unfortunately she had another song stuck in her head at the moment and since the tuning knob of her brain-radio seemed permanently broken, she decided the best way to get it out of her skull would be to belt it out herself…

"I'll have a BLUUUUUEEEEEEE Christmaaaaaaaas without YOUUUUU!"

As she stood there singing (screaming, really) at the transparent walls of the Crystal Palace and the snowy landscape beyond, she was reminded of a fateful conversation some years ago about another corny Christmas song she hated. That memory and the emotions it conveyed wormed their way into her throat and her voice noticeably wavered on the next line.

"Your pitch is a little off, Mako-chan." An overly charitable voice spoke from behind her.

The taller woman turned to glance over her shoulder, her face cherry red in embarrassment at someone having overheard her caterwauling, "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"No offence, but I think the whole Palace could hear that." Sailor Mercury smiled and joined her friend at the edge of the balcony, "I could give you lessons if you want to learn how to sing."

"Nah." Jupiter declined and turned to lean on the cold crystal wall, her back to the city, "The only pitch I need to be good at is softball. That's the first thing I want to do when this god-forsaken snow melts; get a game going!"

"We could go down to the gymnasium and practice?" Ami suggested.

"It's not the same." Sailor Jupiter sighed, "Not without the sun shining and the wind blowing, the smell of the turf and the feel of the dirt on the pitcher's mound."

"You seem rather restless lately, Mako-chan." Ami frowned at her friend, unsure of what other distractions to offer in support.

"Stir-crazy would be more accurate." Makoto replied with a chuckle, "It's to the point where I think I might ask Usagi to put _me_ to sleep with the Silver Crystal, too."

"You miss him terribly, don't you?" Ami guessed correctly.

"When it comes to him I'm as transparent as these walls." Jupiter knocked her knuckles against the crystal and sent an echoing noise through the halls not unlike tapping on an expensive wine glass.

She gazed across the hallway through another series of transparent walls into the central foyer of this level of the Palace. While the bottom floors were reserved for kitchens, the gymnasium, and storage and the ground floors were home to conference rooms and the all-important throne room, the upper levels were home to the Sailor Senshi and the soon-to-be King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo. They were less austere than the lower floors thanks to the furniture, decorations and knick-knacks they all brought from their previous homes, but

The central room which served as their communal dining room, lounge area, and informal meeting place was currently occupied by a large fir tree decorated with blue and white lights and an array of pastel colored baubles. The light distorted as it shone through the glassy crystal walls making the lights blur and refract in strange, but not unpleasing ways. The light that shone onto the floor was not unlike that of a stained glass window.

"I had gotten so used to Neil being around." Makoto sounded as though she were confessing, regardless of the fact that there was no sin or secret among their group, "All of the guys, really. It's so weird how natural it felt for them to become part of our lives."

"I don't know if natural is an apt description." The shy Senshi at her side quipped with a slight blush.

"Well…" Makoto smiled, "As natural as these things can be for _us_, I mean."

After a long moment of companionable silence Sailor Mercury assured her, "They'll be back, you know?"

"Yes, like Frosty the Snowman." Makoto grumbled, "They'll be back again _some_ day, but who knows when?"

She didn't intend for her statement to carry such resentment, but the frustration was building. This was the why she avoided the subject as much as possible, even when her three best friends in the world were experiencing the same discontent, though to wildly varying degrees.

Rei and Jiro weren't exactly what you would call a couple considering their entire relationship was based on outwitting, outperforming, and out-snarking each other at every opportunity. He was only a few hundred miles away keeping watch over the Far East as the world slumbered and still within range of normal radio contact, but the two hadn't spoken in weeks that Makoto knew of. They were most likely involved in some ridiculous pride-fueled competition to see who could last the longest without making the call.

Minako and Kadeen (which Makoto called him instead of Ken because no one else did and she liked the way it sounded) were both instantly on the same wavelength when it came to establishing Crystal Tokyo. As the leaders of their respective groups they had an immediate, if silent, understanding that their duties would take precedence over whatever relationship they were cultivating. Oddly enough for the overly energetic and vociferous Sailor Venus, whatever relationship she and Kadeen were involved in was being kept exceptionally low-key.

And of course Ami, probably the best person Makoto had ever met at compartmentalization when it came to her needs, worries, and emotions, barely spoke of Zora who was no doubt having the time of his life sitting by a fireplace perusing endless stacks of literature (probably wearing those tiny reading glasses that made Ami blush every time he brought them out) as he watched over a frozen Europe from the comfort of a lavish London flat. Even still, Makoto knew the blue haired Senshi was feeling the sting of separation without her "Study Buddy" as she teasingly referred to him.

When the Great Sleep arrived and the snow began to fall it was the unanimous decision of Mamoru and the Shitennou that latter would travel back to the areas of their birth and watch over the four corners of the planet while it slept. With the Earth in such a vulnerable state the Outer Senshi could not be spared in their efforts to defend the outer reaches of the solar system and the Inner Senshi were all required to remain in Crystal Tokyo just to keep their new Palace operational. Between the computers monitoring the planet, the energy required to maintain the Sleep, and the task of keeping their new King and Queen safe, there was precious little time for anything else which made the Shitennou's reappearance and purpose, puns intended, crystal clear. They were meant to travel abroad during this transitional period and protect their lands as they had once guarded in the distant past.

"Everything was going so well the last few years." Makoto spoke again after another long minute of silence, "It felt so right. It was like Usagi's dream of having this huge, happy family was coming true." She shook her head and turned back to the snowy city again, the cheer of the Christmas tree shining a little false in her eyes right now, "Just like always, as soon as we start to feel just a little bit normal and comfortable, something like this pops up."

"I understand." Ami agreed though she added with some irony, "But we're not normal."

"Boy you said a mouthful." Makoto reflected.

"But to that point…" Ami continued, "Neither are _they_. I guess that's why we- I mean, our… um… I mean, our ability to work together is not… complicated."

"Tell that to Sailor Mars." Jupiter laughed as did her friend.

As another silence settled her thoughts drifted west where she could imagine Neil, the man who would soon be reclaiming the name Nephrite when the world awoke, stalking angrily through the snowbound streets of New York City. (They had decided that basing their operations out of major population centers throughout the world made the most sense.) Though Makoto was drawn to nature through her Senshi heritage, she had grown up in cities and suburbs and felt at home in Tokyo. Neil, however, would rather live in an isolated shack in the middle of nowhere like Thoreau. She could imagine him going just as stir-crazy as her stuck in a high-rise somewhere in Manhattan slowly pulling out each strand of his thick lion's mane of hair one at a time.

In the years since they had met Makoto and Neil had become close. Nothing had been consummated between them yet (or any of the other couples as far as she knew) but there was an unspoken notion that time no longer mattered and therefore there was no need to rush into anything.

"You know." Ami began, "The satellites will properly align in a few days and you would probably be able to contact him briefly."

"No, that's alright." Was Makoto's almost instant reply, "We both know how each other feels and we knew it would be a long haul before it's all over." She hesitantly chuckled, "Besides, what would I say? How's the weather?"

"You could sing to him." Ami suggested in all seriousness.

"Ami." Makoto pushed off the wall and leered over her shorter companion with a stern mask like a drill sergeant covering her normally jovial features, "I want him to come _back_ one day."


	10. Day Eight

**Day Eight**

**Who:** All  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>_Mulled Wine & Hot Chocolate_

* * *

><p>Zora impatiently rapped on the bathroom door and called out, "Neil!"<p>

"Hold on!" was the grunted reply.

"You've been in there for like an hour!" Zora reminded him.

Ken stepped up, "If you need help, just ask!"

"I got this!" Neil shouted back. Annoyance turned to frustration.

"Dude, the pipes can't handle this kind of abuse." Jiro mentioned and sipped his cocoa.

"Just go back to the living room!" Neil demanded breathlessly, "I'll be out when I'm done."

"Whatever." Zora gave up with a shrug.

Only Mamoru the silent stalwart protector stayed behind and in a whisper offered words of encouragement: "Take as long as you need. You don't want to rush and mess something up."

"Yeah, thanks." Neil grunted again.

There was a loud sloshing sound that followed and Mamoru, wide-eyed, stepped backwards and away from the door and scurried down the hall to his waiting guests.

"Is everything alright?" Usagi asked in her preternaturally concerned way.

"Everything's fine." Mamoru thinly assured her, "It's just, uh… taking longer than expected."

"Is he okay?" Makoto asked just as concerned.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Ken spoke firmly, "He's been through much worse."

"Anybody want some more cocoa?" Minako asked perkily, "I'm almost drained."

"Hit me up." Jiro intoned.

"I don't say no to liquid chocolate." Mamoru added.

"Just a little more for me, thanks." Rei requested.

Before Minako could gather the mugs the telltale thump of Neil's heavy stride down the hallway called her attention. He practically jogged into the room with a large steaming punch bowl in his hands. He very nearly tripped and spilled the whole works on Mamoru's lap but he caught himself and placed the odd, brown, citrus-smelling liquid on the coffee table in the midst of four confused men and five equally confused young women.

"Apparently you're finished." Mamoru observed.

"I told you this shit takes time." Neil grumbled and spooned a heaping mug of the stuff for himself before offering it to anyone else.

"Remind me why this has to be made in the bathroom?" Zora asked nervously.

"It's tradition." Neil answered proudly.

"In the bathroom?" Ami asked hesitantly and her complexion paled a bit.

"In the bathtub to be exact." Neil clarified without hesitation.

"That's so charming and vile." Rei quipped, visibly disturbed.

"Hell, I know what goes down that drain." Jiro stepped up and dunked his cocoa mug into the punch bowl. Neil sent a high-five over Mamoru and Ken's heads to his younger companion.

"I suppose I could give you the benefit of the doubt." Ken spoke next and grabbed his own cup.

After the eldest Shitennou's show of support Mamoru, Zora, and the girls all grabbed glasses of Neil's strange bathtub concoction and sat with the hot, steaming liquid in their laps awaiting a rather anxious first taste.

"Na zdrowie!" Neil cheered and took a big gulp of his drink.

The crowd followed suit. Almost immediately every face fell as the hot, burning, heavily spiced, citrusy, ungodly powerful draught worked its way like river sludge over each over stimulated taste bud and down each unprepared throat. When the last person had swallowed all eyes were once again on Neil who was reaching for his second glass with a satisfied grin. Whatever he had brewed provided an almost immediate buzz and Ami put a hand to her temple to steady herself.

"Neil?" Mamoru asked slowly and respectfully.

"Yo."

"I thought you were making us mulled wine."

"I did." Neil answered sheepishly, "Kind of."

"This is _not_ mulled wine." Ami studiously pointed out.

"I know. This is called _boilo_." Neil explained after a sip of his concoction, "It's basically the same thing."

"You sure about that?" Rei asked under a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so maybe it's not mulled wine so much as it's mulled whiskey." Neil confessed and took another drink, "It's a really specific regional thing I discovered in the States when I was traveling."

"What tiny group of insane Americans drinks this?" Minako asked, though her attitude was positive and the label of insanity was meant to be taken as a compliment.

"It's from a coal mining region of Pennsylvania." Neil clarified, "They developed it over the years from out of similar recipes from eastern European immigrants."

"They need to develop it a bit more." Rei suggested, her palate obviously not agreeing with the alcoholic concoction.

"Supposedly it cures colds and the flu and pretty much everything else." Neil stated and took another drink.

"It's kind of like _krupnik_ from Poland and Lithuania." Zora added, swirling the deep brown liquid in his cup, but in no rush to put it to his lips again.

"More like crap-_nik_." Jiro joked and made a gagging motion, "I think I'm dying."

"What do you expect from bathtub liquor?" Ami was dismissive.

"Yeah and why the bathroom?" Zora asked still puzzled by that point.

"Oh come on, it doesn't need to be made in the bathroom…" Neil rolled his eyes, "I made it in the kitchen. I just took it in there and sloshed it around a bit to make you all think I was doing something gross."

"Why?" Rei demanded.

"Because it's funny?" Neil offered and took another sip.

"Do they drink this stuff all the time over there?" Usagi asked with the concern on her face evident. There was a strong possibility she would be hopping the next flight to Pennsylvania to perform an emergency Moon Healing Escalation on the poor, misguided coal miners who created such a drink.

"No, just around Christmas time." Neil clarified.

"Once per year is quite sufficient." Ken agreed and set his half-full cup back down on the coffee table with a wary glance.

"I think I've got an orange peel stuck in my teeth." Mamoru complained and flicked this tongue back and forth between two molars.

"You people are absolutely devoid of any Christmas spirit." Neil laughed and knocked back the remainder of _boilo_ cup number two.

"Well I think it's lovely." Makoto put in her two cents and drew the concerned glance of everyone in the room, "It's unique. It's strong, but it's got a good contrast of flavors. Plus, you know, its tradition!"

"Thank you." Neil generously offered and saluted her with his glass.

Makoto smiled sweetly and offered a barely perceptible wink. The pair both took another drink of Neil's Lithuanian insanity juice and by their third or fourth glass it was obvious to everyone else in the room who was soaking up the most Christmas cheer.


	11. Day Nine

**Day Nine**

**Note: **Today's drabble is based on a pairing & situation suggestion from user Jinora. I'm kind of stretching the prompt to make this one work, but I enjoyed it. Hope you dig it!

**Who:** Jadeite, Minako  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Snow Angels_

* * *

><p>"Jiro." Minako scolded the blonde man standing next to her as a disappointed parent might, "Are you drunk?"<p>

"No." he answered honestly and took another bite of the twisted cinnamon-and-sugar crusted pretzel stick clutched in the hand that wasn't currently lugging what felt like sixteen tons of shopping bags.

"So your brain just naturally drifts to ridiculous places like this?" she inquired.

"I can't help it if I'm the creative type." Jiro didn't apologize.

"What it god's name makes you think _Frosty the Snowman_ needs a big-budget Hollywood reboot?" Mina demanded as they walked side-by-side down the crowded upper level of the bustling mall.

"For the same reason we reboot Batman every ten years." Jiro replied, "People keep wanting it to go darker and darker."

"Yeah…" she dragged the word out, "But "Frosty" isn't a dark story."

"The hell it isn't!" Jiro shouted a bit too loud and called the attention of a mall cop who gave him a dirty look for his troubles, "Professor Bad-Guy-Mc-What's-His-Name (Jiro could not recall the name of the antagonist from the original _Frosty_ cartoon and this discussion had been ongoing for the last fifteen minutes) straight up murders Frosty in front of a group of traumatized children when he traps him in the greenhouse."

"And then he almost immediately comes back to life." Mina reminded him.

"Yes, to take his revenge as an avenging spirit—" Jiro explained, but was instantly cut off.

"No. NO!" Mina actually stomped her foot in defiance, "That's not how the original—"

It was Jiro's turn to interrupt now, "Like _Spawn_, Mina. An avenging spirit like Spawn."

"Frosty the Snowman." Minako's sapphire eyes turned to daggers, "Is not _anything_ like Spawn."

"Well in my version he is." The blonde man defended and threw away the spent wrapper of his cinnamon stick pretzel.

"Your version is going to make children cry." Minako told him, "And I can't allow that."

"You're usually so supportive of my ideas!" Jiro pouted, "And obviously I'm not making it for kids."

"No one in their right mind would go see this movie, Jiro, regardless of age." Minako was steadfast in her determination to derail this train of thought.

"But it's a classic revenge story!" Jiro threw his free arm up to enunciate his point, "I'm basically turning Frosty the Snowman into Clint Eastwood's character from _High Plains Drifter_!"

"Clint Eastwood didn't raise a _child army_!" Minako screeched, frustrated at Jiro's blindness to this obviously absurd idea.

"Only to combat Professor Bad-Guy-Mc-What's-His-Name and the army of murderous snow angels he creates by reverse-engineering the magic in Frosty's top hat." Jiro elaborated.

"Snow angels." Minako stopped in her tracks and several impatient shoppers jostled her as they walked by muttering under their breath.

"Yeah!" Jiro turned to face her, all smiles and jolly good cheer, "And then there's a big battle sequence for control of the town!" He pumped his fist in celebration of the obvious awesomeness of his idea, "It'll be like Helm's Deep meets _Frozen_!"

"Don't you dare, Jiro!" Minako charged him and rapped him repeatedly in the chest with one pointed finger, "Don't you take two more things I love and drag them into this abomination!"

"Ooh!" his eyes lit up at the sound of the word, "That gives me a _great_ idea!"

"Damn it…" Minako whined and slapped a palm to her face.

"The end of the movie can be a classic kaiju fight!" Jiro was rapt with this most recent round of brilliance, "Professor Bad Guy will, like, merge with all the fallen snow angels and become this huge Snow Abomination!"

"I want it on record that I am opposed to everything that's come out of your mouth in the last twenty minutes." Mina deadpanned as they continued walking past the overflowing stores full of holiday shoppers.

"Hey, the Snow Abomination was _your_ idea!" Jiro accused her, "And if that's the way you want it then you just sassed yourself out of a writer's credit, missy!"

"Oh the despair!" she sarcastically jabbed.

"Keep it up and I'm not inviting you to the red carpet premier either!" Jiro threatened.

"I may become a tabloid reporter exclusively to slander your name." Minako returned.

"So this is it, huh?" Jiro laughed assessing her sharp gaze and defiant sneer, "Who would have thought _Frosty the Snowman_ would be the cause of the gulf in our friendship?"

"Oh no, you don't get off that easy." Minako promised, "The friendship of the Goddess of Love and Beauty is not so easily cast aside."

"Truly your benevolence knows no bounds." Jiro dropped to a knee in the crowded shopping mall corridor, head bowed in reverence, "I cry your pardon."

"Rise and walk with me, young squire." She spoke in her most regal voice as she strode past him, "All is forgiven."

"Thank goodness." He smiled, jumped up and wiped away mock tears, "I just… I wouldn't know how to go on without you!"

"Exactly." She congratulated him on finally seeing the light of her magnificence, "Who else would you be able to discuss such important and weighted pop culture topics with?"

"I'm still hungry." Jiro complained, immediately shifting gears, "You want to head over to the food court?"

"Nah, I'm good." Minako said, "I'm holding out for dinner at Mako-chan's tonight."

"You people seriously need to stop having these dinner parties every other night." Jiro said and tugged on his belt, "I had trouble buttoning my jeans this morning and the bathroom scale says I put on another five pounds! I've never weighed this much in my life!."

"I'll be sure to tell that to Makoto." Minako said, "And, you know, spin it so it sounds like a proper compliment."

"Thanks!" Jiro replied happily.

They continued through the mall, occasionally stopping to window shop or check out one of the ridiculous number of boutique stores where Minako spent the majority of her mysterious income. While she was perusing a shop that exclusively sold candles (the smell of which caused Jiro to halt, gagging in the doorway) he watched a group of Christmas carolers on the level below giving a free performance.

Out of all the Senshi Jiro had struck up the fastest rapport with Minako in no small part to her similarly obsessive love of popular culture. It was a perfect storm of movie quotes and obscure references when the two of them were together and they were sometimes known to have full conversations comprised of nothing but dialogue from their favorite movies and TV shows. He had gravitated toward her irrepressible friendliness and the openness with which she accepted the four men who were once her mortal enemies. Where the reception of the other Senshi had been somewhat lukewarm (and downright frigid where Haruka and Michiru were concerned) Minako enthusiastically welcomed the men into the fold.

"So." Mina hopped up next to him a few minutes later plus one scented candle, "Should we address the elephant in the closet?"

Jiro chuckled at that. Minako's occasional proverb-mangling was one of the things that endeared her to him. While others saw those slip-ups as a sign of her air-headedness, Jiro always looked for the intent behind her words and her intentions were always pure. He found it adorable, to be honest, much as he found many other things about the effervescent blonde. He had more than once let his mind wander down a dead-end path where he could imagine himself easily falling in love with Minako, but thanks to placement of his own feelings (not to mention the fact that Ken would likely murder him several times), he was more than content to simply have her as a good friend and, as it now seemed, his personal relationship coach.

"We've been out here for three hours now and I still have no idea what I'm going to get her." Jiro confessed and turned to Minako with a sullen look, "And I do still have to get her something, right?"

"Of course you do." She answered and smacked him in the arm with her candle-bag for good measure.

"Well?" he asked expectantly, "I'm waiting for the Goddess to shower me with her intuition."

"Oh no, this is all on you to pick something. I'm just running quality control." Minako told him and he turned away, pouting, "You should know Rei well enough by now. What do you think she would like?"

"No, come on!" Jiro complained, "Don't quiz me like that!"

"Jiro…" Minako impatiently tapped her foot.

"I don't know!" he declared in frustration, "I don't think she wants _anything_. I mean she seems so… so… simplistic."

"Wrong word." Minako warned.

"Or, um… minimalist?" Jiro thought quickly.

"I was going to say modest, but that works." His coach congratulated him, "So you don't want to get her anything too expensive or gaudy."

"Ok, let's see…" Jiro thought aloud, "Oh! I know she's big into yoga so… new pair of yoga pants?"

"You are not buying Rei yoga pants." Minako refused in a trivializing monotone.

"I was kidding, Mina." Jiro uselessly tried to defend himself.

"No you weren't." she caught him, "Pervert."

"Well?!" he threw his arms out in defeat.

"Keep trying." She prodded him.

"Christ… um…" he wracked his brain drawing on the fleeting knowledge he had of this modern incarnation of his fiery princess, "She's very spiritual, but I don't know how to work that angle. She's modest, uh… She's elegant and poised, she's very traditional, um… think, god damn it—OH!" he snapped his fingers over and over trying to stall the memory from slipping away, "Those flowers she likes!"

"Casablanca lilies." Minako supplied.

"Yes!"

"No." she immediately shot him down, "Stay away from those. Too many painful memories wrapped up in them these days."

"Shit!" he barked, again a little too loud for a crowded shopping mall full of kids, "This shouldn't be this hard!"

"You're making it harder than it needs to be." Minako counseled him, "Think about her temper."

"Yeah, I am." He said warily, "About how she's going to burn me to a cinder when I get her the wrong thing."

"I meant think about emotions in general." Minako clarified, "She's a deeply emotional person, even if she keeps it under wraps most of the time. She's a lot like Neil in that respect."

"Oh!" he rolled his eyes in feigned understanding, "So I should buy her a bottle of whiskey!"

"You know what I mean, you ass." Minako nudged him again, a bit rougher this time, "Your gift has to convey the same depth of emotion. It can't just be a _thing_ to add to her collection of other things. She's not a material person at all."

"So what the hell are we even doing at—" Jiro demanded in frustration and caught himself just as the light bulb sparked to life above his head, "I'm not going to find anything for her at a shopping mall."

"Now you're getting it." The coach smiled at her handiwork.

"So whatever I give her has to convey emotion. Mine, but whoever made it, too, so something that someone put their heart into…" Jiro continued the line of logic, "Something hand made, probably."

"There are a bunch of artisan shops just outside the city and down in the historical district." Minako told him, "We'll take a trip out there one day next week."

"This doesn't make _picking_ something any easier, you know?" Jiro sounded defeated.

"No, but at least you know where to start now!" she perkily exclaimed.

"I guess." He answered and then turned his nose up at her, "So why did we even come here?"

"Well I needed to buy her something too!" Minako stated the obvious.

"What?" Jiro jumped to attention, "What about that whole speech you just gave me about her being so emotional and non-materialistic?"

"I'm not the one trying to get her to fall in love with me!" Minako winked at him with a sly smirk, "I mean, not that I would have to _try; w_e're pretty much already married! And I am the Goddess of Love and—"

"Okay Cupid, I think you've had quite enough fun at my expense today!" Jiro interrupted her, grabbed the excess baggage he was hauling around for her and bolted towards the escalator to the exit.

"Hey! Jiro! Wait up!" she cried as she watched his grinning blonde head disappear into the mass of shoppers, "DON'T YOU BREAK MY CANDLE!"


	12. Day Ten

**Day Ten**

**Note:** This one is yet another image prompt! (Check the Shitennou-Ai LiveJournal archives for December 10, 2011 to see it.) This one depicts a partly cloudy winter night on a frozen lake surrounded by snow-capped pine trees with a giant full moon rising above.

**Who:** Jadeite, Rei  
><strong>When:<strong> Silver Millennium  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Full moon over a frozen lake_

* * *

><p>Jadeite watched from his perch leaning against one of the snow-crusted pines that circled the shores of the small lake. The place had no name that he could recall, but from the way his Master and his Lunar guest carried on, insubordinate and illegal as their activities were, he though it could have been Paradise itself. Endymion had carried Serenity out into the middle of the frozen lake and they now appeared to be engaged in a rather heated snowball fight between their bouts of adolescent groping.<p>

The night had been utterly black under a veil of thick clouds from a storm which had deposited at least a foot of fresh powdery snow on the already heavily blanketed countryside. The pines around him drooped with the weight of it, but they would only bend so far and never break. Somehow he thought Endymion wouldn't allow it. The princess let out one of her unmistakable screeches of either terror or joy, he hadn't quite worked out the difference in dynamics yet, and his attention was called back to the ice.

High above the clouds began to part and a cold alabaster glow began to seep over the land from the Moon which rose higher and somehow larger than he'd ever remembered seeing before. The glowing white orb filled the whole of the sky which wasn't shrouded by drooping tree limbs or the remnant wisps of cloud. Jadeite had never put much stock into the old tales of the people who lived on the moon until one of them suddenly (and quite literally) fell into their lives and he still was somewhat skeptical about their shrouded history and practices, but as he watched that unnaturally large moon rise through a crisp clear night he was now more aware than ever of the mysterious magic of the Earth's constant companion.

"Magnificent." He heard himself say.

"I envy you for this." A voice beside him spoke into his ear.

He was already grinning somewhat from the vision of the Moon before him, but his smile widened considerably upon hearing the Martian-inflected tones of a certain different Princess who had smitten yet another lowly Earthling.

"Mars has two moons, I thought?" Jadeite wondered to the bundled-up woman who had appeared beside him.

"It does." She replied with a tiny ironic smile, "But to us they're just rocks in the sky." She cast her glance upward again, "The Moon means much more to your people that Deimos or Phobos does to mine. It's special. Magical."

"Well, an immortal woman with a magic stone does live up there." Jadeite observed.

"Even the people who aren't aware of Queen Serenity believe the Moon contains some sort of mystical power." Rei spoke, "Some consider the Moon to be a god in and of itself."

"Normally you'd scorn us for such superstitious beliefs." Jadeite reminded her.

"Normally I would, but this is one of those moments when you… barbarians..." she winked at him, "Certainly have one up on us civilized folk of the Silver Millennium."

She looked up again at the bright shining orb, almost painful to behold in the cold darkness, "Seeing it like this, I suddenly understand why it's captivated your people for so long."

"I've never seen it like this before." Jadeite revealed more somber than before, "Perhaps I've taken it for granted all these years."

"I wish I could see it through your eyes." Rei told him and sought to intertwine her hand with his.

"Zoisite could probably brew up a potion to that effect." Jadeite suggested, but then shrugged, "Of course he may inadvertently erase your childhood memories or cause you to grow gills, so perhaps not…"

She laughed at his jest and snuggled herself closer to him. She rarely did this, especially with the princess only a scant hundred yards away, but that magic Moon had worked its spell over the Martian as well. She wound both arms around his waist and Jadeite rested a gloved hand on the top of her head.

"This will have to suffice." She said agreeably.

"I'd like to see your moons someday." Jadeite whispered in her ear with his ever-present roguishness in full effect.

"I'll bet you would." She snickered back.

They stood holding each other, silent and content, watching their respective wards until it was time for Rei to return her princess to that gleaming, magnificent, magical creature in the sky.


	13. Day Eleven

**Day Eleven**

**Who:** Mamoru  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern (Pre-Drabble!Verse)  
><strong>Prompt: <strong>_Christmas Cards_

* * *

><p><em>My Dearest Shitennou,<em>

_It's Christmas time again!_

_I know it was a whole lifetime ago, but its seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the Solstice together in the Golden Kingdom. For as cloudy as my memories of the past can be, I do clearly recall gathering in the great hall of our castle for the legendary Winter feast. If I concentrate hard enough I think I can hear the laughter and the music, see the flickering glow of the blazing hearths, and taste the seemingly endless supply of mulled wine and hot cider. And if I'm remembering this correctly after the feast Kunzite always managed to draw the short straw when it came to leading everyone in the traditional carols! Sorry to have a laugh at your expense old friend, but your voice was always better suited to the battlefield._

_Well now, what to report?_

_I know we've talked about it before, but with each passing year I feel as though the Earth is slowly fraying. I don't know how else to describe it. It's like well-worn pair of jeans. The cuffs are beginning to tatter and given enough time they will unravel completely. I believe that the great calamity before the rise of Crystal Tokyo and our new Silver Millennium is inching nearer and nearer. I feel as if I should be doing something, preparing in some way, but I find myself at a loss as to what to do or how to act. What an odd feeling to await your own destiny knowing full well that you should not attempt to alter it._

_But enough of that sort of talk… its Christmas after all!_

_It's been a busy year for me. I've managed by some miracle to finish medical school and I'm hoping to find a full-time job at one of the hospitals come the new year and get some experience under my belt before looking into my own private practice. Right now I'm doing my annual volunteer stint at the children's hospital in town. I've been trying to bribe Motoki into being my elf when they inevitably ask me to don the Santa Claus suit. Jadeite, you'd love it; I know how eagerly you anticipated every holiday and I'm sure you're brimming with Christmas spirit. The kids are great, but I have to say that it makes me a bit melancholy. Every time I'm around the children I'm reminded of Chibi-Usa. I know she's somewhere up ahead waiting for me, but I miss her all the same. Would it be wrong of me to wish for Crystal Tokyo to come sooner rather than later?_

_On the other side of things Usagi and the girls are just as feisty as ever. They've been making their rounds taking care of all the Christmas shopping for our little circle of friends and I'm happy to leave them to it. Unfortunately I'm currently stuck as to what I'm going to get Usako for Christmas. I know she would tell me she doesn't want or need anything, but I still have to be the good boyfriend. Zoisite, you would know best. I'm really in a bind here. I'm thinking maybe concert tickets? Or should I save that for her birthday? I'm thinking it needs to be something more sentimental. I'm really awful at this…_

_Let's see... Oh! Usagi and the others are in their last year of school now, so they've been very busy with exams and projects which has left me with quite a bit of time on my hands so I've been looking for some new hobbies to distract myself. I bought a bonsai, but I'm pretty sure I've already killed it and no, the irony is not lost on me. You can all stop chuckling..._

_I've also been trying to keep in touch with some friends I made while I was studying in America, but it's harder than you'd think. I got a present in the mail the other day from one of my med school classmates: a bottle of Southern Comfort. They used to drink the stuff like water and I suffered greatly. Apparently it was the school's signature drink. Nephrite, this has your name on it. I tried to fake it, but I've never been a very good liar and I haven't developed a tolerance for anything stronger than sake._

_Other than that I guess it's business as usual. Every year I say the same thing and I'll say it again: I miss you guys. I really wish we could all get together again; it's been so long. You're in my thoughts daily as I'm sure you know. I hope you're all doing well and who knows what Crystal Tokyo may bring? Maybe it will be a homecoming for us as well._

_Be safe and love always,_

_Mamoru_

* * *

><p>Mamoru set his pen down and picked up the card. It was a simple thing depicting the front door of a snowy farm house adorned with an evergreen wreath. He grabbed the bright red envelope which came with the card and crumpled it up with one hand and threw it in the trash can as he stood up from the kitchen table.<p>

He walked down the hallway to his bedroom and sat on the edge of his bed, cradling the card in his hands. With a swift, rehearsed motion he set the card on the night stand next to his bed close to a small glass keepsake box containing four innocuous looking gem stones which sparkled pastel shades of blue, red, green, and pink in the cold light of the winter moon.

"Merry Christmas."


	14. Day Twelve

**Day Twelve**

**Note:** Back in 2011 I wrote something else for this prompt, but I wasn't particularly happy with what I came up with. If you check out the Shitennou-Ai LiveJournal archives for December 11, 2014 you can still see the original drabble. It featured Kunzite… kinda. Also, since there have been some requests sent my way to see more Mako/Neph, that's we've got today! Hope you dig it.

**Who:** Nephrite, Makoto  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _The Gift of the Magi_

* * *

><p>"There it is!" Makoto announced in a whisper.<p>

She was leaning out past the end of an aisle in the large electronics store. Hooks and price labels jabbed into her back as she pressed herself against the display of Blu-Ray movies trying to blend into the scenery and failing. The store was full to capacity with other shoppers so her stealthy movements were a complete waste of effort, but she was having too much fun to act like an adult at this point. Having a partner for this venture was also emboldening her to new levels of immaturity.

"Got it in my sights." Neil nodded, crouched down on the opposite side of the aisle.

He spied their target: a lone box sitting far above the display models on the highest shelf where the store kept their extra stock. It was the last one. It was the only one for miles. It was the Holy Grail of Christmas gifts.

It was twelve feet off the ground with no help and no ladder in sight.

"This is why I hate coming to these big-box retailers around Christmas." Makoto grumbled, still half-pressed into the Blu-Ray display pretending to be hidden despite the fact that at least four people had passed by them in the last thirty seconds.

"Yes." Neil agreed, birdlike eyes surveying the whole sales floor and the other shoppers, "There are enemy agents everywhere."

"And there's never any sales people around when you need them!" she continued complaining, "They've probably got a whole truck load of these things in the back, too!"

"Or this could be the last one." Neil cautioned, "And if we ask someone for help they might grab it for themselves or tell us it's on hold for another customer."

"So…" Makoto cracked the knuckles of her left hand and gazed down at Neil with steely determination in her ferrous eyes, "We either take the chance on asking for help or we risk it all and do this ourselves."

"We could call for support." Neil suggested, "Zora is a better strategist, heart-wrenching as it is for me to admit. Or maybe you could ask Sailor Venus to borrow her Love-Me Chain?"

"Damn it man, there's no time for that!" Makoto declared, "And we obviously can't ask Minako for help; it's her gift!"

"Right, right. Sorry." Neil hastily apologized, "Battle fatigue."

"We need a distraction…" Makoto mused and watched the bustle of shoppers including a couple who were inching precariously close to their quarry.

"I have an idea." Neil stated. His face was a mask of grim resolve, "I'll go over to the table where they're selling the video game systems and yell _"What do you mean you're out of PlayStations?!" _That should cause a stampede."

"That's suicide!" Makoto gasped.

"This is war, Mako-chan! Sacrifices have to be made!" Neil argued defiantly, "I'm willing to jump on the grenade so _your_ friend can get the gift she so desperately needs!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!" she cried and grabbed his arm, grip like a vice.

"Don't be a fool, Mako! You have to-"

"Excuse me." An irritated voice from behind them broke up their play-acting.

Makoto and Neil turned to see an older woman pushing a cart laden with electronics standing in the middle of the aisle regarding them with a sour look. She shook her head to one side indicating that she wanted the pair to move out of her way. Makoto blushed slightly and obliged, stepped to one side and the agitated woman passed staring at her all the while. When she rounded the corner of the aisle Makoto caught Neil's amused glance and they both burst into a giggling fit completely aware that they were still within earshot.

Makoto reveled in Neil's company which she had found over the last few months to be extremely relaxing and rather playful. The latter was a trait which rarely showed when the two of them were isolated in their separate groups, however. Among the other Shitennou Neil tended to be rather quiet, only chiming in with an anecdote or a witty remark when the moment was right unlike Jiro who was a machine gun of snarky comments and Ken who was stone silent most of the time. Similarly, Makoto was regarded among her friends as the most practical and level-headed of their group and she admitted that she did tend to act as the voice of reason when Usagi, Minako, and Rei got each other riled up.

Alone with Neil however she discovered an outlet for the antics she enjoyed, but could not indulge with the rest of her Senshi sisters lest their small group descend into immature chaos. Neil must have found the same similarities in Makoto as she had become the one person around whom he was completely unguarded and, as was now evident in light of their current mission, a complete goofball.

When the humor of their playful antics had subsided Makoto looked up at the box on the top shelf again and asked, "So seriously, how are we getting this thing?"

"I don't think I can jump that high." Neil frowned, "You?"

"Not without transforming." Makoto had to agree, "And I imagine certain felines would lecture me about abusing my powers for something like this."

"It still kind of bothers me that they talk." Neil confided as they walked towards the shelf that held their prize.

"Did I tell you they can turn into humans, too?" Makoto asked him.

"Really?" he looked utterly baffled at that, "Then—I mean… Why stay like cats?"

She just shrugged in response to that and Neil shook his head in disbelief.

"You have weird friends."

"Mamoru used to talk to you when guys were still rocks." Makoto jabbed back.

"I didn't say my friends _weren't_ weird…" Neil returned.

"Fair point."

Above them on the highest shelf sat a large square box, mocking them from its lofty realm.

"I hate you." Makoto spoke. To the box.

"There's not even a good way to climb up these shelves." Neil noted and jostled the thin strip of metal that held a display full of kitchen appliances.

Just then an intercom announced: "Attention shoppers, the store will be closing in ten minutes. Please bring your final purchases to the registers or customer service desk for a quick and easy check-out…"

Makoto and Neil quickly surveyed the situation and watched as large groups of shoppers, many grumbling at the lateness of the hour, began moving herd-like towards the check-out area. They looked at each other and then back up at the box.

"It's now or never." Makoto understood and she balled her hands into fists, "What do we do?"

"Do you know how to fall?" Neil inquired.

"Excuse me?"

"Fall." He repeated. "Do you know how to fall? Like so you don't hurt yourself?"

"Oh…" she pondered the odd question, "Yes, but I tend not to fall very often."

She had not intended her answer to carry any subtext or deeper meaning, but Neil saw it there anyway. Makoto's early life had not been easy and the hardships she had overcome would certainly have worn down and defeated a lesser creature. Her strength and indomitable spirit were two of the chief reasons he found himself so enamored by her.

"Good." He followed up her statement with a smile and dropped to one knee, a position that sent a momentary flutter through Makoto's heart, and he entwined his fingers together, "Because I wouldn't let you."

"What are we doing?" she asked warily.

"We're only going to get one shot at this." Neil was now grinning wide with his mouth full of teeth, "Come on! I'll give you a boost."

"You're joking." She was incredulous, "There's no way you can get me up there in one try!"

"Makoto, look at me." Neil seemed offended, "I used to sling around three hundred pound crab pots twelve hours a day. I could bench-press a small house."

"I meant we're not coordinated enough to do this in one attempt." She corrected him and rolled her eyes for good measure, "Don't go all Alpha Male on me."

"Yes, exactly!" he announced and his voice got louder and more animated as he continued, "I am the Alpha Male, thank you. And you're the Alpha Female and together there's no reason we can't face down the impossible and get that god damned box! The hour is getting late, so what's it going to be, Mako? One shot – all or nothing! Fortune and glory! The chips are down and this train's leaving the station. All aboard! _WOOO-WOOO!_ _WOO—"_

She leaned down about ten steps away from him and launched into a sprint partly to get this ridiculous idea done and over with, partly to just shut him up. Neil's eyes were wide not from surprise, but excitement as she reached him, stepped up onto his waiting hands and suddenly felt gravity struggle to catch up as she was effortlessly launched into the air. With only a split second to react she reached out and grabbed the long sought-after box with one hand and kicked herself off the sturdy upright section of the shelf in the same movement, launching into a backwards somersault. She landed on the ground an instant later, knees bent, and rolled safely onto her side before springing upright, her prize safely tucked under one arm. However, her momentum and excitement continued to carry her forward. She stumbled and nearly fell, irony blazing red on her face, but she was immediately caught at the shoulders by a pair of strong hands. The same hands that had moments before propelled her into the air with seemingly careless effort. She wasn't sure if it was adrenaline that was making her heart race, or the emotions springing within her from being handled so easily, self-conscious as she had always been about her size. Neil's stifled cry of victory came out as an awkward high-pitched grunt and he clumsily hugged her.

"Is anyone coming?" Makoto squeaked, still pressed up against him and looking terrified.

"Nope!" Neil answered elated, "We're in the wind, baby!"

Makoto pulled away, cautiously scanned over the tops of the aisles to verify that they weren't about to be removed by store security, and broke into a huge grin which Neil eagerly returned. Fifteen minutes later they were seated in a small coffee shop on the other side of the shopping center treating themselves to some victory caffeine with Mianko's new Keurig securely stowed in the trunk of Neil's Audi S7.

"I can't believe you of all people are buying a coffee maker for someone. Doesn't that go against your culinary principles?" Neil asked, his chin resting contentedly in his hand as he watched her sip the drink which contained far too many ingredients to recall.

"This is Mianko we're talking about." She answered, "The girl can't boil water."

"Tragic." Neil laughed.

"And don't you repeat this to a soul." Makoto glowered at him, "But those stupid machines actually make pretty decent coffee."

Neil whistled, impressed, "I'll bet their stock price just doubled."

They chuckled again and reminisced over their most recent adventure agreeing that maybe next time something like this happened they could just ask an employee for help rather than risking life and limb for a Christmas present, but wasn't their way more fun? After a few moments of silence Makoto leaned forward and looked up at her companion with hesitant expectation.

"Can I ask you something?"

"No." was his usual answer whenever that question was posed.

"When did you start to remember?" she asked, knowing his terse reply wasn't to be taken seriously.

"You mean in general?" he asked to clarify and she nodded affirmative, "About six years ago. Around Christmas, actually. I was in church."

"Church." She repeated and turned her head in slight surprise, "You don't seem the religious type."

"I'm not." He answered honestly, "I was traveling then. I think I was in the Midwest somewhere, maybe Minnesota. I'm not sure. Very rural area, I remember. Lots of old family names. Very traditional."

He continued: "Back then all I knew was that I needed to go _somewhere_. I wasn't even sure where yet. I didn't know that until I met Ken, but anyway, I was searching all the same. Searching for the place I belonged, searching for a purpose. I knew I had to keep moving and keep looking for an answer."

"So you turned to religion?" she wondered and traced the edge of her coffee cup with a pale white nail.

"Not so much religion as the people." Neil explained as he watched the crowds outside the café window, "I wanted to understand how they could set aside the problems of the world for just one hour every week and find some measure of peace. I thought if I could figure that out maybe I'd stop feeling so restless."

"Did you ever find out?"

"Not really. Not until I got here and met Mamoru." He revealed and took a sip of his coffee, black and strong with no additives, "And I was never a member of a church or anything. I would just stop in from time to time. Synagogues, mosques, wherever. I particularly liked small-town churches though, especially at Christmas time. I'd sit in the back row sometimes hours before the services when the lights were out and the room was cold, just sitting there enjoying the silence and the calm."

"What made you start to remember?" she asked again.

"The story of the Three Kings." The surprisingly sensitive man answered, "Do you know that story? Or maybe you've heard them called the Wise Men. Or Magi?"

"I'm vaguely familiar." Makoto told him, remembering some miniscule details Rei had related, she having attended a Christian high school.

"The Magi were astrologers and seers from various countries in the ancient world. They followed a special star to Bethlehem where a prophecy said the son of God would be born." He elaborated.

"And then what?"

"They offered him gifts." Neil said and gave her a small smile, "Not a Keurig machine." She laughed at that, "But the thing that jogged my memory was the star that they followed. It was probably actually a comet or something, but I focused in on that detail thinking about how they put all of their faith into that star, about how their entire lives revolved around reading signs in the heavens…"

"Neil?" she asked after a moment, the man before her having trailed off.

"That's when I suddenly remembered that once in a completely different time and place; in a different _life _that I had done the same thing." Neil said solemnly, "I ran out of the church into the cold night and looked up at the stars." He paused, recollected, and smiled, "I could _hear_ them."

"That's a powerful ability." Makoto mused, thinking of Rei and her spiritual fire and how she herself could sometimes hear voices on the wind; the whispers of nature.

"It's a gift." He agreed.

"Does that make you a Magi?" she wondered and winked.

"Well the Shitennou are kings, but there's four of us. The Magi were only three." Neil chuckled, "Although I am a badass at gift-giving, so maybe."

"That you are." Makoto agreed.

"How would you know?" he asked, "I haven't gotten _you_ anything yet."

Hearing him speak so openly of his past was jogging her own memory and Makoto began to drift back to those times as well. She thought back to their antics in the electronics store, the way he effortlessly lifted her into the air, and the moment after she came back down to Earth. She remembered it was almost the same sensation as the first time she set foot on the planet in the Silver Millennium. The ground felt softer than she expected, the wind blew differently than on her Jovian home, and the excitement of it all had made her anxious. She had stumbled then too, but...

"Gifts don't have to be _things_." Makoto said softly, "You didn't let me fall."

She laid a gentle hand over his, "You never did."


	15. Day Thirteen

**Day Thirteen**

**Note:** Sorry for being a bit behind schedule with these next three entries, all; I had an extremely busy weekend and no time to write. So here's a triple-shot of drabbles to start your Monday! I've had some requests to see Minako & Kunzite, so here's the first featuring those two!

**Who:** Mianko, Kunzite  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _A nose as red as Rudolph's_

* * *

><p>Minako Aino was a keen judge of character. As the personified Goddess of Love and Beauty as well as the leader of the Sailor Senshi her status demanded no less. She needed to be able to read an opponent at a glance in battle as well as call on her observational skills when playing Matchmaker-in-Chief. Therefore she was unsurprised when her initial assessment of the man calling himself Kadeen (or Ken for some reason…) proved to be more or less spot on. While the other three men who had arrived along with him showed varying shades of the personalities they possessed in their previous lives, they had evolved, grown, and changed into wholly separate beings than the Kings they had once been. All except <em>him<em>, of course.

Might as well call himself _Ken_-zite…

The Shitennou had reappeared a little over one year ago today. Those initial meetings, introductions, and wary assessments from afar were not wholly unpleasant, but they also weren't as magical as Usagi, with her constant bleating of "It's a Christmas miracle!" would have curious bystanders believe. That isn't to say it wasn't the happiest Minako had ever seen Mamoru in all the years they had known each other. The man was practically floating, his heart had become so light having his knights, his _friends_ back in his life again. Seeing Mamoru in such a state of elation naturally made Usagi about a hundred times more animated and jovial than usual and that excitement always had a way of trickling down to the other girls, significantly easing their tension and opening the way to dialogue between their two groups. Dialogue in the form of a terrifically awkward take-out dinner in Mamoru's extremely crowded apartment.

Minako had decided to go all in with the Shitennou's reappearance and did her best to be welcoming and accommodating. Of course Rei and the Outer Senshi (who politely declined their invitation to the impromptu homecoming party) warned that they could still pose a threat and may have been revived as part of an evil plot from some as-yet-unknown enemy. However Minako decided to give the four men the benefit of the doubt reasoning that after the harrowing battles against Sailor Galaxia, Chaos, and the mind-bending experience with the Galaxy Cauldron, there was absolutely nothing in the way of malevolent creatures left in the universe that the Senshi couldn't dispatch in a matter of seconds.

Despite her cheerful optimism and acceptance of the men, she barely spoke to them during that first meeting. Words of encouragement to her fellow Senshi were one thing; taking action on her own advice was quite another considering that she, as the first awakened Senshi, still had a bit of a lead on the others in the memory-recovery department. Those memories of death and betrayal were not the sort of foundation she wanted to build new friendships upon.

At one time the Sailor Senshi had remembered _everything_. Absolutely everything, like what Minako imagined true schizophrenia might feel like. However as time went on it seemed that their memories began to fade. They were all still very much aware of the broad strokes of their history, but the details were beginning to suffer. Where they could once recall faces and names, now there were only vague suggestions and cloudy feelings. Luna and Artemis postulated it was because the girls no longer needed the connection to their past selves; they had come completely into their own as Senshi in the here-and-now. Not so with Minako who still remembered everything from her past life as clearly as the day one year ago when _He_ showed up on Mamoru's doorstep. Her memory was vivid and whole, like watching a home movie on a projector screen set up directly behind her bright blue eyes.

Jiro seemed younger and fuller of more energy and vitality than Jadeite had been. The latter was a man of poise and composure; a being of living harmony, but nowhere near as extroverted. Similarly, Neil was much more open and pleasant than Nephrite had been. She recalled his past self as a mystic seer being something of an arrogant prick, if not a supremely intelligent one. Neil was still brimming with machismo, but it was tempered by a very relaxed, comforting confidence. Zora, always the wildcard, was similar to Zoisite in his approach to life. He seemed at once directionless and powerfully focused, always drifting from obsession to obsession, but where Zoisite had been a consummate soldier and almost entirely closed-off in the past, Zora was very similar to Jiro in his lust for life and his engaging personality.

Ken _was_ Kunzite. It was as if the man she knew from the Silver Millennium had simply uprooted himself from the permanent position he held at Endymion's right hand and planted himself in the exact same spot next to Mamoru. The moment she arrived at Mamoru's apartment after receiving the frantic, squealing call from Usagi that "the boys" were back, it was as if someone had superimposed her first memory of Kunzite on top of the reality in front of her eyes because there he was: tall, white haired (though his hair was much shorter these days), impeccably dressed as any soldier would be, standing to the right and just behind Mamoru, stone silent, face impassive, eyes steel and cold, constantly evaluating and assessing.

_I must break him._ Was the first thought she had, her internal voice putting on its best Ivan Drago.

From those timid early meetings the Shitennou slowly began to integrate into the lives of the Senshi who once fought so adamantly against them in the Dark Kingdom. They became acquaintances at first, people who you politely acknowledged when you saw them on the sidewalk or in Mamoru's company. Eventually friendships began to form, some casual, some exceptionally close such as the case of herself and Jiro. Even Haruka and Michiru, though still keeping their traditional distance from the tight-knit group of Inner Senshi, had considerably warmed to the presence of the four men. There was even rumor of a Christmas card with actual best wishes and holiday greetings being sent as opposed to a semi-annual reminder that they were still being watched.

But for all of her effort, all the group activities, all the dinners, all the late-night karaoke, all the "just because" parties that put even Makoto's seemingly insurmountable culinary output to the test, Minako had yet to engage Ken in conversation. A real conversation, mind you, not the simple pleasantries they exchanged about Mamoru, Usagi, the weather, food, and each other's exceptional taste in outerwear. (Ken didn't own a coat that didn't reach at least to his knees.) It wasn't for lack of effort, either. Minako had worked every possible angle and tried to exploit every available opening to get the marble man to open up and actually _talk_ to her, but it was all for naught. She may as well have been talking to the original Kunzite for all the feedback she was receiving. He was dead; at least he had a valid excuse for not having anything to say to her!

When she saw the blood it was with that thought in her mind. Her stomach lurched and her heart, suddenly transformed into a delicate glass sculpture, felt like it just toppled off a pedestal to the waiting embrace of a cold stone floor. The rest of the room was howling with laughter. When Minako's brain finally caught up and she realized she wasn't on the Moon watching Kunzite's life bleed away by her own hand, Ken was already standing outside on the balcony with one hand pinching the bridge of his nose while the frigid winter wind blasted him.

"Oh my gosh, is he okay?!" Usagi's concerned voice cried from the bathroom down the hall from where the group had gathered in Mamoru's apartment once again to celebrate the anniversary of the Shitennou's return to Tokyo.

"He'll be fine, the giant baby." Neil said with a slur and a smile.

He was seated on the couch next to Makoto who was also grinning, a rosy aura glowing on her cheeks from the numerous glasses of _boilo_ she had consumed. They were leaning up against each other for mutual support, heads knocked together, laughing cracking wise as if there was no one else in the room. On the opposite, larger couch sat Zora, Rei, Ami, and Jiro. In that order. As Minako reflected, they had all formed tentative friendships, but only some had progressed beyond that. She couldn't help but smile seeing Neil and Makoto so adorably incoherent together.

"Mamo-chan says he's sorry, Ken!" Usagi called again from the bathroom over fairly awful sounding fits of grunting and retching, "I mean… I _think_ that's what he said."

"Make sure he's drinking the water I gave you!" Ami called down the hallway, concerned at Mamoru's overly inebriated state, but forbidden from assisting because _"that's what girlfriends are for"_ as Usagi put it, "And perhaps I should check on Ken?"

"I'm sure his nose doesn't hurt nearly as much as his pride." Zora chuckled. Ami and Rei both offered him a rather sour glance and he threw his hands up as if surrendering.

Seizing what would likely be the only opportunity to catch Ken alone, even in a compromised situation, Minako announced, "I'll check on him!"

"Mina—" was all Jiro managed before a comet of gold and denim shot out through the sliding door to join the injured Shitennou on the freezing balcony, "Doesn't she know you're not supposed to poke injured animals?"

Outside Minako almost instantly regretted her impulsive decision to run out into the freezing night without first grabbing her bulbous winter coat, but this was an opportunity she couldn't let slip past for any type of weather. It wasn't snowing tonight, but the wind was blowing brutally cold. It didn't help that they were several stories up

"Are you okay? Minako asked at once, willing her teeth not to chatter.

He didn't answer. His eyes were closed. The only sign betraying consciousness (other than the fact that he was standing up) was the heavy sigh that followed.

"Is it broken?" she asked a little more meekly and moved a step closer to him.

"I don't think so." He finally spoke, his voice sounding congested.

After an uncomfortable moment of silence Minako offered, "Mamoru says he's sorry."

"Does he?" Ken asked and turned to glance at her out of one eye. For a moment she thought she saw something sparkle in the corner of his gray iris: playful mischief, perhaps? She mentally scolded herself at the hopeful thought. This was Ken-zite, after all.

"For the record he's in the bathroom right now." Minako told him, "Suffering."

"Good." Ken said.

Then he laughed. Out loud. Like a human being.

"Uh…" Minako's stunned reaction came out as a stifled groan.

"That's what he gets for hitting me in the face with one of his magic roses." Ken turned to her fully and let his hand drop revealing a swollen red nose, dark stained nostril, and caked frozen blood coloring his upper lip.

"You're lucky he's such a terrible shot when he's drunk." Minako said in a steady, even voice still completely off guard in light of Ken's sudden accessibility, "If the tip had hit you…"

"Zora would have been jealous of my new nose piercing." Ken finished for her and gave a genuine smile, "Who knew a flower could hit like a baseball?"

"We'll have to make sure he doesn't try to get another game of darts going with his magic roses when he stumbles out of the bathroom." Minako laughed, coming back into her own voice.

"At least now I know what to get him for Christmas." Ken joked easily, "Lord knows a dart board will go a long way to making his apartment look like someone actually lives in it."

"Isn't making fun of Mamoru some kind of insubordination for you guys?" Minako asked, hoping that her serious inquiry was veiled in just enough humor to get past him.

"Please…" Ken waved a dismissive hand, "If you had heard some of the stories of the things we did to each other back in the Silver Millennium…"

"I'd like to." She blurted out eagerly.

At that Ken stopped, his face dropped all signs of levity although it did not revert to his impassive scowl. Rather he simply gazed at her with what Minako would have previously considered an alien contentedness, but that now suited him so well she couldn't imagine ever seeing him differently. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of tissues and held it out for him. He took them, his hand touched hers, and suddenly the frigid winter weather on Mamoru's balcony was a distant memory.

"Thanks." He said, licked one end of a balled up tissue and wiped the dried blood from under his nose. He looked so damnably vulnerable in that moment, so _normal_ that Minako nearly broke down in tears from some strangely placed feeling of relief.

"How's it look?" he asked and pointed to his oversized nose.

"Rudolph would be jealous." She answered honestly.

"You can head back inside if you want; no reason to freeze to death on my account." Ken gestured towards the warmth and laughter inside the apartment, "I'll be in shortly."

"You sure?" Minako asked concerned, "It's freezing out here."

"I'm fine." He thanked her and turned back towards the skyline, _"The cold never bothered me anyway."_

Her hand was on the door ready to pull it open, but she immediately snapped to attention and whirled around, disbelief plastered on her face. It was one thing to see him smile. It was one thing to hear him laugh. It was quite another, no matter how off-key and under his breath it had been, to hear him _sing_.

"Did you just—"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He interrupted her, his face back to its standard mask of calculated indifference.

But now she knew how to read him. That stony, impassive visage was Ken's version of a shit-eating grin. Minako smiled and turned back towards the apartment reveling in her modest victory, finally understanding the carefully constructed persona of stoic detachment that both Ken and Kunzite had displayed to the world. More, she was smiling at what she'd found beneath it.

Hopefully it wouldn't require bodily injury to get him alone again.


	16. Day Fourteen

**Day Fourteen**

**Who:** Makoto, Zoisite  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Somebody spiked the eggnog_

* * *

><p>The chime of her apartment doorbell called Makoto's attention from her current task of greasing the small mountain of cookie sheets that would soon be baking up Christmas cheer for her circle of friends; a circle that had been four larger these past few years. She shuffled across her kitchen to the door and swung it open with an inviting flourish.<p>

"Permission to enter the royal kitchens?" her visitor asked politely.

"Granted." she chuckled back and extended a hand, "Come on in, Zora!"

"Thanks." he answered and graciously offered her one of the bulging grocery bags that were weighing him down, "The snow is getting ridiculous out there."

"I can tell." Makoto stated, reached up, and playfully swished several lumps of wet snow out of Zora's coppery curls.

"Still nothing compared to winter in the Alps." he stated as he shrugged out of his pea coat and scarf (green, of course).

"Take a train up to Nagano someday." Makoto suggested, "I'm sure the ski resorts there will give your Alps a run for their money."

"One challenge at a time, lady." Zora laughed and the two moved to the kitchen, "Oh! I didn't realize you were busy."

"Don't mind this." Makoto gestured to the pile of cookie sheets, "I'll be out of your way in a few minutes."

"There must be twenty square feet of cookie trays there." Zora whistled in surprise.

"Yeah, well with you guys around I had to triple my output!" Makoto acted indignant, "Before I only had Usagi to worry about, but now there's four more appetites as big as hers to worry about."

"Want me to let you in on a secret?" Zora grinned, "I can eat more than the rest of them put together."

"I believe it." his host agreed jokingly, "It's always the scrawny ones who have the bottomless pits for a stomach."

"Scrawny?!" Zora acted mightily offended, "If anything I'm _svelte_."

They both had a laugh at their wordplay as Makoto continued about her task and Zora unloaded his shopping bags. Makoto glanced over her shoulder at one point watched him work. She had concluded some time ago that Zora possessed some mild form of OCD and it showed in the way he lined up the items he bought in perfect geometric symmetry. His angelic face (made more so by those ridiculous radiant curls of dark gold hair that Makoto so envied) was drawn into a tight, concentrated mask as he went about preparing his corner of the counter for the upcoming culinary lesson.

Makoto was surprised how much she enjoyed spending time with Zora, especially considering how much she hated the Zoisite of the Dark Kingdom. Once again she was forced to remind herself that these were not the same men from all those years ago. A small pang of guilt played at a corner of her mouth for even allowing the comparison to seep into her subconscious at all. After all, she never made those comparisons of Neil and his shadowy former self...

Neil spoke of Zora as if he were a full-on eccentric, but as their friendship grew Makoto realized he was simply a man of varied interests, varied talents, and varied levels of obsession. His linguistic ability bordered on the level of savant; she was floored by how quickly he picked up her native language. Though everyone in their group spoke English to varying degrees of proficiency the Shitennou had made the promise and the subsequent effort to adapt to their new home in Tokyo, not make their new companions adapt to them. Zora was also a voracious reader and something of a Wikipedia addict. She wasn't sure if his curiosity was an inherent trait of his personality, or if it was something he developed over the last few years in an effort to impress a certain blue-haired best friend of hers. Whatever the case, Zora was one of the most intelligent people she knew and certainly one of the most logical and grounded. Neil tended not to think things through very carefully and Jiro lacked the same attention to detail which permeated nearly every decision Ken ever made. Zora was very analytical and balanced and also surprisingly humble. It was a stark contrast to the Zoisite who believed himself to be a superior being in every way that counted.

And then of course there was his boundless enthusiasm for anything and everything social. He rivaled Minako in that regard. He wasn't as big a pop culture fanatic as she or Jiro, but he was aware of media trends, fashion trends, and current events the world over. Social media was like a drug to Zora and his iPhone was burdened with every app known to man. If the coming kingdom of Crystal Tokyo ever needed a public relations official, Zora would be their one and only choice.

"So what are we making?" Makoto asked as she cleared the last of her pans off the counter to give them some room to work.

"Well since it's become something of a tradition for us to provide the liquid refreshment at our little get-togethers I thought I'd show you how to make a traditional Christmas drink!" Zora announced and then frowned, "And hopefully make up for Neil and his boilo nonsense."

"Hey, I like that stuff!" Makoto defended and casually swatted his scrawny arm.

"That's because your personal brand of insanity is weirdly compatible with his." Zora sassed, "And I feel it's best not to question it."

"Good!" she sassed back and punched a fist into her palm for effect, "So what's is this called?"

"Eggnog!" Zora exclaimed and grabbed a large mixing bowl his host had provided.

"Eggnog?" Makoto repeated, "That's a silly word."

"Oh but it's not a silly drink!" he happily explained, "It's made for sipping by the fireside with a group of your best friends, laughing and remembering all the good times you shared throughout the year."

"Sounds like it's got booze in it." Makoto quickly caught on.

"Maybe a little..." Zora winked mischievously.

"So you really are no better than Neil!" she accused him.

"I guarantee that you'll like this more than his Lithuanian insanity juice." her guest promised as he began separating his ingredients into an efficient assembly line, "And I double-guarantee you'd like it better than _his_ version."

"His version?" Makoto inquired, "I thought this was a European drink."

"It originated in my corner of the world." Zora clarified, "But they drink it in the States, too. Neil's version is dreadful."

"You two..." Makoto giggled, "Everything's a contest."

"Of course!" Zora agreed, "Life's no fun without competition."

Despite the changes he had undergone from his metamorphosis from Zoisite, the one thing that remained constant was Zora's love of a challenge. He always managed to find some contest, no matter how inconsequential, to display his prowess in whatever skill his impromptu games called for. It was one of the more entertaining, if occasionally wearing aspects of his personality. It also served to highlight some of the lingering, less desirable traits that she remembered. Makoto had no doubt that Zora meant well in most of his endeavors, but that didn't stop him from occasionally playing dirty when he wanted to win.

"So what did you get Neil for Christmas?" Zora asked as he beat the eggs and directed Makoto to measure out the spices.

"Oh no you don't!" she was immediately defensive, "I know your tricks Zora. If I tell you what I got him you're just going to run back to Neil and ruin the surprise."

"Mako-chan, I'm shocked you don't trust me!" he was utterly unconvincing.

"I trust you enough to borrow my kitchen." she reminded him slyly.

"Ouch." Zora replied and clucked his tongue, "I don't have a comeback for that."

"Exactly." she said triumphantly. Damn his competitiveness rubbing off on her...

About a half hour later which was much longer than the process should have taken, but they were constantly interrupted by laughter and Zora's tales of Christmases across Europe the two collaborates stared into the punch bowl at their off-white creation.

"It seems awfully thick." Makoto was worried they had missed some crucial step in the prepartion.

"This is just about the right consistency." Zora reassured her. He had dipped a spoon into the liquid and watched how it coated and drizzled off the shiny metal, "Neil's would be like pancake batter."

Makoto snatched the spoon from Zora's hand and licked it with an inquisitive tongue. Her nose wrinkled slightly as the cloying sucrose worked its magic against the spiciness of the cinnamon and nutmeg.

"Oh wow that's sweet." she smacked her lips.

"Yeah, there's a reason you're only supposed to drink two or three cups of this a year." Zora told her.

"I don't taste any alcohol though." she wondered and surveyed the remains of the ingredients on the counter.

"We don't add it now." Zora elaborated, "We let everyone have a cup first and then we add the rum when they're not looking!"

"That..." something in Zora's eager anticipation of that moment clicked in Makoto's mind as a rather underhanded tactic more befitting his previous incarnation, "Isn't that what they call _spiking_?"

"Spiking the eggnog is as much a tradition as making it in the first place; it maybe even _more_ important!" he defended his actions.

"If you insist on spiking in then you have to promise to help me watch Usagi." Makoto demanded, "Something this sugary she's liable to drink the whole thing herself!"

"Agreed." Zora reached out and they shook hands, "Just so long as you hep me keep an eye on Ken's glass and make sure it's never empty!"

"Zora one of these days we have to have a long discussion about this sinister streak of yours." Makoto said in her most motherly tone.

"Come on, Mako-chan." the rogue nudged her with a snarky grin, "Don't tell me you don't want to see what happens."

No amount of forced chagrin or casual dismissal could hide the simple truth that Zora knew all too well: she did want to see what would happen when Ken had a few too many. She really, _really_ wanted to see that.

"So what's our signal to add the rum?" she asked, joining in on the plot at last.


	17. Day Fifteen

**Day Fifteen**

**Who:** Nephrite, Zoisite  
><strong>When:<strong> Silver Millennium  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Sleigh Rides_

* * *

><p>Nephrite's hands were frozen, cracked and bleeding. Sweat soaked his brow despite the numbing, negative temperatures. The moonlight seeping through the rafters of the stable was doing little to assist the single candle he had burning for light. He wiped a dirty hand across his face and continued on to the next bit of work.<p>

"Nephrite?" A voice startled him from the doorway.

"What?" he barked at the intruder.

"You missed dinner." Zoisite chastised him with a shiver against the cold, "Again."

"I won't starve if that's what you're implying."

"You need to stop obsessing over this." Zoisite warned.

"I'm not obsessing." Nephrite countered, "I'm fighting."

"Against what?" Zoisite laughed.

"Her tyranny." Nephrite snapped and picked up a long metal blade from where it lay on the ground. Zoisite watched his partner scrape a whetstone against the already razor-sharp edge.

"Is that true-silver?" Zoisite asked hesitantly.

"It holds a better edge than steel." Nephrite mumbled dismissively.

"How on Earth did you pay for so much?" Zoisite wondered seeing another identical blade lying on the workbench.

"This is not about expense or balancing the ledgers." Nephrite forcefully replied, "This is about duty. It's about honor."

"This is about one man's dangerous obsession with—" Zoisite was cut off mid-sentence.

"Do you honestly expect me to lie idle after what she's done?" Nephrite exploded, "That witch is out there turning the hearts and minds of our own people! I hear her name whispered around every corner and bellowed at every tavern! She's driving a wedge straight through the Golden Kingdom itself!"

Nephrite's powerful voice rang through the snowy night and Zoisite had to stifle an amused grin. Nephrite threw down his whetstone and carefully tested the balance of the true-silver blade as he had the others. He picked up the fourth blade and began honing its edge without even a sidelong glance at the younger Shitennou.

"The way you're acting it's as if you're expecting a war." Zoisite mentioned off-handedly.

"I am." Nephrite replied with unnerving finality.

When the fourth blade was finished and placed with the others Nephrite grunted in Zoisite's direction to help him undo the lid of a large wooden cask situated in a dark corner of the stable. Zoisite honestly expected anything: axe-heads, black powder, some manner of alchemical fire. What he saw and rather smelled was distinctly… fishy.

"What is this?" he asked, nose upturned.

"Wax." Nephrite replied and took a scoop of the stuff in his hand, "Refined from whale blubber.'

He slopped his handful of wax on the bottom of the blades and made sure each one got an even coat. With each stroke of his hand over the finely honed strips of metal his feral grin grew wider. After a few minutes he invoked Zoisite's help again and the pair struggled to flip the heavy sleigh right-side up. The whale-waxed true-silver blades were so slick that the sleigh couldn't be left unattended for more than a few seconds before it began to slide away.

"All this work." Zoisite chuckled, "Is your pride beginning to mend?"

"No one has _ever_ been able to drive a sleigh faster than me." Nephrite glowered at his companion, "And I intend it to remain that way."

"What if the Princess of Uranus is disinclined to accept a rematch?" Zoisite wondered.

"She wont' be able to help it." Nephrite grinned maniacally as he eyed his stripped-down and modified sled, "A warrior's pride won't allow it."

Zoisite simply sighed and turned to leave the stable as Nephrite began cooing what sounded like words of affection and encouragement directed towards the sled.

"I'll inform the healers to expect you..."


	18. Day Sixteen

**Day Sixteen**

**Who:** Jadeite, Chibi-Usa  
><strong>When:<strong> Crystal Tokyo  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _The Grinch_

* * *

><p>"Uncle Jadeite I'm <em>tired<em>… Can we be done now?"

Jadeite chuckled to himself. The princess was the spitting image of her mother, especially in voice. The cadence of her whining was almost identical and she had the added unfair advantage of still being a child to whom no one could say no. Jadeite relented, feeling their lesson for the day was complete considering the princess' state of dishevelment. She was breathing heavy, her knees were scraped and with the way her pink hair was frizzed out and exploding from the odongo style she shared with the queen, Small Lady could easily be mistaken for an anthropomorphic bundle of cotton candy.

"Of course, my Lady. You've done very well today." Jadeite congratulated his pupil.

"Yayyyy!" she screeched and immediately dropped the heart-shaped wand to the floor where it vanished in a flash, returning to whatever strange pocket dimension stored the Senshi's various trinkets. In another flash the princess' Senshi uniform was replaced by casual clothes, all pastel, mostly pink.

Jadeite surveyed the young girl's handiwork: the training hall had been set up with several round target markers of various shapes and set and staggered distances. Jadeite was in charge of training the princess in the use of her magical attacks and according to his training schedule, she was accelerating in skill beyond his expectations. The targets were all wearing out from the continued impact of Sailor Chibi-Moon's Pink Sugar Heart attack, despite its relative weakness. (It still stung as Jadeite noted, having been the recipient of several missed shots early in their training.) At some point soon the stationary targets would be rigged so they moved back and forth at varying speeds, then side to side. Eventually she would be facing off against holographic opponents that could move, dodge, and fight back freely. That is if Zoisite and Sailor Mercury could possibly be bothered to take their eyes (and hands) off each other for long enough to program the computers…

"I'm hungry!" the princess announced cheerfully, "You should come down to the kitchen; I'll bet Mako-chan will make you a bigger lunch than me and then we can trade!"

"I'll certainly walk with you to the kitchen." Jadeite agreed, "But I can't stay for lunch today, I'm afraid. I have to meet with Kunzite and your father soon to talk about boring grown-up stuff."

"You're going to talk about what you're getting me for Christmas, aren't you?" she winked.

"Shh!" Jadeite put a finger to his lips, "These are top-secret meetings! Are you trying to get me in trouble?"

"You can't keep a secret from me!" she haughtily replied and placed a hand on her chest, "Is it a pony? I'll bet it's a pony…"

"I… must not… betray… my king!" Jadeite clenched a fist over his breast and pretended to struggle.

"I'll tell you what Rei-chan is getting you…" she cooed viciously.

"You are cruel, my Lady." Jadeite laughed, "But I can't say what you're getting. And please don't tell me, either. I don't want to ruin the surprise!"

Jadeite desperately wanted to ruin the surprise, considering that he wasn't expecting to receive anything from the fiery soldier. It was agreed between them years ago - _My god, is it decades now? _- that they didn't need to keep one-upping each other year after year. It was getting the point where soon enough Jadeite would be buying her a space shuttle and she would gift him with a suspension bridge. Their stubborn pride escalated any interaction they had with each other into a fierce rivalry to the point that Zoisite began to keep track of their antics in what he called his "War Journal." Thinking fondly on their many inconsequential battles of ego, Jadeite smiled and began pondering what she might have found for him as a suitable gift.

Small Lady slowly leaned in looking sheepish, "What's the Grinch?"

"I'm sorry?" Jadeite asked confused.

"I heard Mommy say it the other day." She looked away, "To Rei-chan. They were arguing as usual."

"Oh…" Jadeite finally recalled what she was talking about, the memories of many Christmases and a beaten up VHS tape of Christmas movies flooding over him, "So your mother called Sailor Mars a Grinch did she?"

"Is it a bad word?" the princess inquired.

"Well it's not a nice word!" Jadeite seemed appalled, "Don't you know the story of the Grinch?"

She shook her head furiously, ondangos bouncing back and forth and swishing her in the face.

"Well… it's not a pretty tale." Jadeite began as their pace towards the kitchen slowed considerably, "The Grinch was… a _youma_."

"A monster!" Small Lady screeched, "From the Dark Kingdom?"

"One of the worst!" Jadeite stressed, "He was all green and furry and nasty with long, ugly fingers and sharp teeth. He was a _mean_ one!"

He continued, "The Grinch worked directly for Queen Beryl and she ordered him to go out into the world and steal energy, but specifically the energy that people have around Christmas time. The Grinch _hated_ the whole Christmas season!"

"Why?" she asked innocently enough.

"No one quite knew the reason." Jadeite answered in a beat, enjoying his impromptu re-interpretation of the Seuss classic, "But he followed the Queen's command and stole everyone's Christmas energy! He even went into people's houses and stole all their presents! He took their Christmas lights and decorations and even their Christmas dinners!'

The young princess was rapt by the story even though she looked like she was about to either cry or run out into the streets of Crystal Tokyo and hunt the Grinch down herself.

"He took all the things he stole and piled everything up at the Tokyo Tower until it looked like a giant, evil Christmas tree!" Jadeite made a motion with his hand indicating its enormous size, "Everyone was so depressed and weak without their Christmas energy, but they were too scared to face the Grinch."

"So what happened?" the pint-sized soldier asked expectantly.

"In the end Sailor Moon had to save Christmas." Jadeite explained. The awe on the little girl's face almost brought a tear to his eye, "She and the other Sailor Senshi couldn't let Christmas be ruined, so they fought their way up to the top of the evil Christmas tree and confronted the Grinch. He attacked them with sharp candy canes and wrapped them up with garland, but they fought bravely for love and justice… and Christmas!"

"Did they win?!" she clapped her hands excitedly.

"They almost didn't." Jadeite's voice became overly serious now, "The Grinch had them backed into a corner. He started stealing _their_ Christmas energy, too! But then…" he paused dramatically, "Sailor Moon stepped forward, even weak as she was from the fight, and she grabbed the Grinch by the shoulders and gave him… a kiss."

"A kiss?" she repeated.

"Right here on his Grinchy face." Jadeite poked his right cheek, "It was the first gift anyone had ever given the Grinch and his heart was suddenly filled with all the Christmas cheer that he had been stealing and he realized he had been wrong all along!" Jadeite beamed, "Sailor Moon used her wand to heal him and the Grinch turned back into a normal man, but that man…" he paused again, thinking of where his rambling story would go next, "… was _Santa Claus_!"

"No!" the princess gasped.

"Yes!" Jadeite hissed, "Queen Beryl had captured Santa Claus and brainwashed him and turned him into the Grinch! But Sailor Moon managed to save him and together they flew off in Santa's sleigh and returned all the Christmas energy he had stolen."

"Do you know any more stories about Sailor Moon?" she asked giddily, "My Daddy has only told me a couple."

"Maybe, if you keep doing so well with your training." Jadeite promised, "But…" the grave tone of his voice called her attention, "The story doesn't end there."

"It doesn't?" she gulped.

"The Grinch's spirit was strong." Jadeite told her, "Sailor Moon may have healed Santa Claus, but some say the Grinch wasn't completely destroyed; that he's still out there." He gestured out the crystalline windows of the Palace to the bustling city beyond, "Now people use his name to describe someone who is angry or nasty around Christmas time. But there's always a chance." He leaned in closer and closer to her as he spoke, "That the Grinch might appear **AGAIN!**"

"Eeep!" she squealed and jumped at the sound of his voice.

Jadeite laughed and placed a calming hand on the princess' head before ushering her into the kitchen for her lunch. The poor girl looked traumatized the whole time she sat at the table eating her expertly crafted sandwich. Jadeite received a stern, warning glance from Sailor Jupiter and decided to quietly let her in on the story he spun which earned him a swat on the arm with a spatula and the threat of no Christmas cookies if he ever pulled a stunt like that again.

Later that night as Jadeite and Zoisite sat together in the palace's reading room adjacent to Sailor Mercury's library discussing the events of the day a sudden scream, crash, and subsequent click-clack of heels on crystal signaled Sailor Mars' entry. Had the palace been made of ice it would've been a puddle.

"OUT!" she barked at Zoisite.

"Rei-chan, wait!" Neo-Queen Serenity's voice called from down the hall as she and Endymion jogged towards them.

"Oh boy, what did you do now?" Zoisite wondered aloud and cast Jadeite a knowing look.

The other man shrugged innocently.

"Jadeite?" Endymion's voice addressed him from the doorway where he and the Queen now flanked a broiling Sailor Mars, "What did you say to my daughter?"

Jadeite hazarded a glance beyond the doorway to see Small Lady peeking out from behind her father's leg looking at once terrified and delighted.

"You and I are about to have a conversation you won't enjoy." Sailor Mars promised as she stalked towards the offending man.

Jadeite saw as she stepped into the light of the room that in the place on her forehead where her ruby-jeweled tiara should have sat there was now a sizeable lump, rapidly reddening, in the curious shape of a heart. Jadeite's teeth came together and it took every ounce of restraint he possessed not to break out in hysterics at the sight of the inferno of a woman before him who was recently the recipient of a Pink Sugar Heart attack ostensibly intended to purge her of the Grinch's evil presence.

"Go easy on him, Rei-chan!" Serenity pleaded and turned to Endymion for support.

"Don't." he said flatly.

"Yes Sailor Mars, go easy. It's Christmas after all." Jadeite put on his best charm routine, "Don't be such a Grin— OUCH! OW! Stop it, Rei! OWWWW! There's a _CHILD_ watching! OUCH! _HELP!_"


	19. Day Seventeen

**Day Seventeen**

**Who:** Zoisite, Michiru  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Someone gets left home alone_

* * *

><p>Zora stood with his weight completely shifted to favor his left leg, his right ankle still useless and stinging thanks to the patch of black ice from the previous evening that decided things had been going much to well for the young man lately and materialized out of nowhere with the sole intention of ruining his weekend skiing trip with the rest of his friends. They assured him that he could still tag along and hang out at the lodge or in their rooms, but he had politely declined feeling like he would simply be dead weight. Besides, it would give him some privacy from prying eyes to finish his online Christmas shopping… which he finished in the first ten minutes after Neil and Mamoru drove away, their cars overflowing with exuberant Christmas cheer.<p>

As he watched the snow fall by the light of the rising moon he could imagine the scene at the ski lodge: The room all rough timber and hardwood, a towering stone fireplace, the girls still bundled up and huddled around the hearth drinking their required mugs of hot chocolate (most likely infused with Bailey's), Mamoru and Ken sitting opposite each other discussing a topic much too stuffy for a weekend getaway in the mountains, Jiro hovering like a moth making friends with everyone and annoying the employees, Neil probably still hiking around outside well off any marked trail because that's what he did…

Coming to his senses, Zora decided that instead of standing there staring out the ridiculously tall arched window looking wistful he would rather turn around and gawk at the lavish sitting room he was occupying in stupefied awe.

"_You're going to have such a good time!"_ Usagi had promised him after revealing her plan to occupy Zora's time this weekend. She being Usagi and all, he had absolutely no reason to doubt her sincerity, _"And you're going to _love_ their house!"_

And he _did_ love their house. Or rather, their straight-out-of _Downton Abbey_ frigging MANSION with its columns and crown moulding and Venetian plaster ceilings. This room featured, among other absurd accoutrements, a white grand piano, a collection of tables and chairs all framed with wrought iron, a mini-bar holding several crystal decanters full of brown liquor that Neil would likely swill in moments, walls upon walls of artwork, and of course the requisite chandelier hanging in the center. The room was cool, but not drafty (and his turtleneck helped alleviate the chill), and smelled of blue spruce thanks to the towering Christmas tree that stood opposite the piano.

"I'm going to assume this isn't an _original_ Vermeer?" Zora asked sheepishly as he observed one of the paintings with its immaculate detail and photorealistic lighting which could only have come from the hand of that most mysterious of Dutch masters.

"You can assume whatever you'd like." His host replied in that light, cryptic, playful voice that he found at once pleasant, soothing, and incredibly irritating in its vagueness. With his linguistic skill Zora always felt he could read people extremely well through their vocal tone and inflections; Michiru Kaioh might as well have been speaking through a vocoder.

"Makes me wonder why I spent so many years wandering around Europe." Zora joked, "I could've just come here. This place is like a concentrated espresso shot of art and culture."

"To be fair we probably would have killed you." Michiru replied. He was having trouble remembering that she was a Sailor Senshi beneath her waves of aquamarine hair, elegant poise, and princess-like countenance.

"You're never going to let us live that down, are you?" Zora asked with a grin, hoping it came off as genuine. He still wasn't entirely comfortable around this group despite Usagi and Mamoru's assurances.

"We'll never forget who you were, no." she promised him, "But then again the Senshi can not forget who _we_ once were, either. It's not necessarily a bad thing, seeing the long sweep of time, our previous lives... Think of it as creating a complete picture."

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to tell me that you've accepted us." Zora wondered.

"If we hadn't accepted you, you wouldn't be sitting in our house." She told him.

"Yes." Zora said slowly and with a hint of embarrassment, "Thank you for, um… entertaining me this weekend."

"I think you have that backwards." Michiru gave the tiniest breath of laughter.

"I'm always going to feel like I'm under a microscope with you people." Zora groaned and tossed himself down in one of the luxurious armchairs.

"It's not just you, Zora." Michiru's tone was suddenly much less guarded, "We over-analyze everything and everyone. It comes with the territory of being a Sailor Senshi, especially with Haruka and myself." She cocked an inquisitive eyebrow, "I would think you'd appreciate our scrutiny; I remember you as being quite analytical and slow to trust in the Silver Millennium."

"Well that was then. I was a soldier… and the smart one." To his surprise (and possible chagrin) she laughed at that, "I try not to be too judgmental these days." He paused for a moment and looked. She was expecting him to finish that thought, so he did: "Normally I fail…"

"Old habits." She agreed.

After an uncomfortable pause Zora spoke again, "So, no offense, but I don't remember you from the Silver Millennium at all. Did we ever meet?"

"No."

"Then how do you—"

"We were very well-informed of the goings-on throughout the Silver Millennium." Michiru explained swiftly. Obviously this was a topic best not dwelt upon, "But we rarely traveled to the Inner planets. Our duty was to protect the realm from external threats."

"Oh." Zora said smartly, picturing the vast expanses of the outer solar system in his mind's eye, "I can see how that would be… time consuming."

"It's time we're making up for now." Michiru smiled fondly.

Zora knew instinctively who that smile was intended for and he hazarded another question, "So you and your partner were you… um, close? In the past, I mean?"

It took Michiru a moment before she replied, "It genuinely does not matter."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Zora began to apologize, thinking he'd come across as nosy.

"No, that's not what I mean." Michiru calmed him, "I mean who we were in the past may have informed our development in this life, but it has no bearing on who we are _now_."

"That's…" Zora stopped mid-sentence and thought long and hard, feeling like a switch somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind had been thrown, "… a rather unique perspective."

"Why should it be?" Michiru challenged him, "Is it because you and the rest of your comrades still live shackled to your memories and your guilt?"

"I wouldn't say shackled." Zora defended and rubbed his wrists without thinking, "But I suppose there are some lingering issues that need to be cleared up."

For a moment Zoisite resurfaced, his white suit bloodied and then faded to gray as he was brought into the service of the Dark Kingdom. He shut his eyes and shook the images away hoping to disguise the sudden recall as a coughing fit.

"Well." Michiru started again, her voice returning to its unreadable steadiness, "I would consider _this_ issue cleared up at the very least."

"What?"

"Haruka may not be as forthcoming in her judgments as I am, so in a way I suppose you're lucky that she was willing to take your place on the others' ski trip." Michiru said slyly and Zora sighed in regret, "But we came to the conclusion a while ago that you, all of you, are not a threat."

"Huh." Zora grunted, unsure as to the proper response, "Thank you?"

"I know how deeply you care for Mamoru." She explained, "And I have seen the how you and your companions treat the other Senshi with respect and equality in your efforts to establish a friendship." She loosed a knowing smirk, "And I also know that certain members of your group may have designs _beyond_ simple friendships and I can only offer that you'd best know what you're getting yourselves into."

"Thanks, I'll … relay that." Zora stalled wondering just how clairvoyant this woman might be.

"As long as you take my advice to heart yourself." She winked.

"The red on my face is, its—its cold in here…" Zora ineptly stuttered and attempted to lurch into a different topic, "I heard you guys used to have a helicopter?"

Michiru chuckled at his attempt and simply flicked her wrist in response. A handled mirror etched with the astrological symbol of Neptune appeared with a flash out of thin air and floated gracefully into her palm. She reached over the wrought iron table where their tea and biscuits sat untouched and offered the Deep Aqua Mirror to a hesitant Zora.

"Um…" was his stupefied reaction.

"Consider this a Christmas present." She told him.

"I'm not as vain as you think." Zora cracked wise, "Don't let my hair and flawless complexion fool you."

"Trust me." She more or less ordered.

"What will I see?" Zora asked, knowing the answer immediately as he grasped the magic mirror.

"I can't say." She answered honestly, "But hopefully… a complete picture."

Recalling her words from earlier in their conversation, past and future drawn together, Zora looked.

* * *

><p>"I swear to god if I lost my wallet <em>again<em>…" Jiro complained as he patted himself down for the tenth time since he got into the elevator with Neil and back at their apartment building.

"It's probably in your suitcase." Ken observed, "Or perhaps Mamoru recovered it after your—"

"Incident." Jiro interrupted him.

"Nice." Neil laughed, "Is that what we're calling your epic face-plant?"

"I'm lucky I didn't break my neck." Jiro muttered, still frantically searching for his wallet.

"There's always next year." Neil nudged him.

Ken ignored the growing argument as they reached the door to their apartment and inserted the key. The door only swung halfway before it bumped into something large and solid. He shoved his shoulder against the door, Jiro and Neil steeled immediately when they saw the elder man's posture change to his well-recognized defensive stance. The door swung inward pushing their couch away along with it. When the trio stumbled inside they were struck mute. Their furniture had been haphazardly shoved into the center of the room and piled awkwardly. The dining room was similarly compressed. The television and light fixtures had been pulled off the walls and each man recognized the individual sheets from their beds lining the floor around the perimeter of the room, all of them stained to the point of uselessness with splotches of liquid color.

The walls of the apartment were now murals. One wall depicted a familiar castle set against the backdrop of rolling emerald fields and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Another was a stunning representation of the holy shrine of Elysion which had previously only been a vague shadow in their memory. Still another wall was a portrait of Prince Endymion as he appeared in the Silver Millennium, raven hair somewhat longer, features slightly more angular, a sword in his hand and compassionate strength in his bearing. The three men turned their gaze towards the kitchen where they found the artist madly brushing away, the floor of the room having been repurposed as a golden mosaic depicting a Sun Cross.

"Jesus." Neil gasped, giving voice to everyone's thoughts.

"GUYS!" Zora screeched upon hearing the voice. He jumped up and carefully leaped out of the corner he had painted himself into so as not to damage the artwork, "GUYYYYYS!"

Zora was a disheveled mess. His designer jeans were smeared with a rainbow of colors as was his turtleneck, the same one Ken recalled he was wearing when they left on their skiing trip almost 72 hours ago. His hair was similarly specked with paint despite the extremely out-of-place bandana. Zora's eyes were wide with manic intensity and his fist which clutched a paintbrush was shivering with barely contained energy.

"GUYS!' Zora cried again grinning like an idiot, "I REMEMBERED SOMETHING!"

"Yes you certainly have, Zora." Ken spoke slowly, as a hostage negotiator might in the presence of an unstable criminal.

"I looked in the mirror and the mirror showed me things that I didn't know before but now I know and I'm a _COMPLETE PICTURE_ now!" he rambled a nearly incoherent speed, "And—and—AND! They accepted us! We're not a threat—I told them we weren't anyway—but we're _TOTALLY_ not and I hope we know what we're getting into with the _you-know-who's_, but we're good guys, right, guys? We're good, right? Do you think Ami will like the pictures?!"

Ken noted the presence of no less than eight cans of Red Bull littering the floor.

Zora sucked in a deep breath and let out a high-pitched, whooping cry of delight that rivaled anything Usagi could muster as he began hopping up and down in place. His companions could only stare in concerned, slack-jawed confusion at his antics.

"I CAN PAAAAAINT!"


	20. Day Eighteen

**Day Eighteen**

**Note: **Once again everyone, I apologize for being behind the curve on getting this drabbles written. 'Tis the season for family get-togethers, shopping, and long hours at work after all. I hope to post a few more today as well; stick with me!

**Who:** Minako, Kunzite  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Favorite Ornament_

* * *

><p>Ken stood before the Christmas tree. If the muscles in his face had developed in such a way that didn't prohibit the expression, he might have been pouting.<p>

Mamoru had his disco ball, Neil had his miniature depiction of the Three Kings, Jiro had a collection of light-up Star Wars space ships (Terribly inappropriate, the elder man thought), and Zora had contributed several multicolored art deco inspired indented baubles that looked extremely expensive and extremely fragile. Ken had yet to contribute the compulsory new ornament to their collective tree as the group had done every year since their grand homecoming, what was it… almost a five years ago? He quietly sighed so no one else would hear his frustration. _Where has the time gone?_

It was decided among them that since the Shitennou had returned to Tokyo around Christmas time in the first place that no matter where they lived or what they did with their lives that their Christmas tree would be a communal effort. Early on it was a sorry sight; a bare fir wrapped with one string of lights and anything they could scrape together for ornaments: CD's, DVD's, kitchen utensils, bottle caps, and candy wrappers. Each year they contributed more and Ken had decided that his input would be a box of standard, plain, glass spheres that adorned every tree the world over. They were simple, practical, and the foundation of any good trimming. One year he bought a box of red, then green, then gold, blue, and so on down the spectrum. They took up nearly every inch of free bough on the tree now, there were so many. Zora had warned him against buying yet another box of "boring balls" and encouraged him to contribute something unique and personal.

Personally Ken was offended. His baubles _were_ unique by virtue of the fact that nobody else thought to buy them. If it were up to his companions the tree would still be decked out in playing cards and beer cans. He also took umbrage to the suggestion that his baubles weren't personal enough considering their practicality was a reflection of his own sensible nature. This was the minutiae that he was occasionally incised that his younger, less detail-oriented companions often overlooked. If the tree was to be communal, a reflection of their group's cohesion, then it _shouldn't_ be too personal. It was only by the grace of Christmas cheer that Ken even _allowed_ Jiro's space ships to reside next to his sensible balls…

These days the tree resided not in the Shitennou's apartment as they had slowly begun to trickle out into residences of their own, but it was located in the modest suburban home that Mamoru and Usagi shared. Their home served as the centralized location for pretty much all the gatherings among their tight-knight community. While the "just because" parties of a few years ago were somewhat less common these days, the entire month of December was more or less one long-running holiday party. The tree was always illuminated, there was always punch in the refrigerator, and the door was always open. It seemed as if one or more of the Senshi or Shitennou were always coming or going. Appropriate that one of the Senshi took this moment to walk into the living room and snap Ken from his concentration.

"Intervention!" The cheerful voice announced. Ken didn't notice there was anyone else in the room until she tugged on the sleeve of his immaculately white dress shirt, "Come along you."

"Minako?" Ken snapped from his trance when he saw her beaming face, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you from yourself." She answered, "Usagi called me."

"Honestly you and your friends make such mountains out of anthills—" Ken began and immediately swung around to face her shouting, "—MOLE HILLS!"

It took a moment for Minako to realize what had just occurred, but she immediately doubled over with frankly painful fits of laughter. Ken crossed his arms and looked away, embarrassment playing on his face in a slight shade of Christmas red. The more time they spent around each other the more she rubbed off on him, mangled proverbs and all…

"I'm so glad I get to witness these moments." Mina cooed as the laughing subsided. She snaked her arm up into his and pried them off his chest. His hand came to rest in hers, fingers entwined.

"You're lucky I trust you to keep my secrets." Ken answered and looked down at her with a tiny smile. In anyone else's facial vocabulary this emotion would've been expressed as a giant, affectionate grin, but Minako had become adept at translating Ken-face.

"So what crisis are we obsessing over today?" she asked as the man turned back towards the tree.

"I still have yet to contribute an ornament to the tree this year." He confessed his frustration.

"The boring balls not cutting it anymore?" she chirped.

"Been talking to Zora, I see?" Ken grumbled and his shoulders fell slightly.

"Yeahhhhh…" she said slowly and carefully, hoping to disguise the conclusion she came to on her own, "Zora told me."

"Mina…" Ken sighed and her heart swelled. She utterly adored when he used the diminutive form of her name, "You don't think I'm boring, do you?"

As much as she may have wanted to, she couldn't help the laughter that exploded. Ken stood there stoically, his mouth slightly open as the blonde steadied herself against the wall so as not to topple over and writhe on the ground in hysterics. He wasn't yet sure how to decipher her reaction.

"Oh man…" she wiped a tear from her cheek and looked up at him. Her glistening blue eyes now slightly red from the force of her laughter caused an involuntary lump to form in the man's throat. He made a mental note of how far away he was from the opposite wall in case he had to steady himself as well. Those eyes would make any man's knees weak…

"No, you're not boring." She answered at once.

"Are you just being polite?" he dismissed the assessment.

"Ken, I've been described as having the attention span of a six month old kitten on a sugar rush." Minako reassured him, "Trust me, you're _not_ boring." She slid up to him again and wrapped an arm around his waist, "How can any man who shares my passion for Disney musicals be boring?"

"Mina…" he groaned leaned away slightly.

"Come on, there's nobody here!" she cackled, "It's not like Usagi and Mamoru have cameras set up."

"It's not that…" he unsuccessfully tried to deflect her advances.

"Yes, I know you're not a fan of public displays of affection." She reminded him, "But it's not like this house is the middle of Times Square." He just shook his head at that, "Come on, sing "A Whole New World" for me again!"

"Only if you promise to help me find an appropriate ornament for the tree." He negotiated.

"Just pick your favorite ornament and get one of those!" she tugged him closer.

"I don't _have_ a favorite." He allowed himself to be tugged and had to turn to face her, his hands crossing behind the small of her back, "Because I'm boring."

"Ugh… fine." She acquiesced, "But no whining about how crowded the stores are."

When she looked up he was smiling, but his eyes were looking past her, looking distant and lost in thought. For as much as her affection for this man was increasing with every moment they spent together, she was still unsure as to his own emotions. She could only catch glimpses in those brief seconds when his face shifted mechanically precise expressions or when she would catch the corner of his eye in mid-blink when some tiniest speck of soul was revealed. She didn't even know if he had heard half of their conversation.

"Actually." He finally spoke, still staring off into the distance, "I do have a favorite ornament."

"Oh yeah?" she wondered absently.

"Only it's not a Christmas ornament." He confessed and finally locked eyes with her, "Even though you do see lots of them around this time."

"Yeah?" she repeated, her thought process grinding to a halt as his twin bank vault eyes suddenly swung wide open. Her heart became a snare drum.

One hand reached up and gently brushed the side of her face. He tucked an errant wisp of hair behind her right ear as his fingers slid through her silky golden tresses and up the back of her scalp sending an electric jolt down through every extremity. Suddenly he flicked his wrist and Minako felt the weight of her hair pulled by gravity as the red bow she habitually wore popped off in a single move despite the fact that it was tied and usually took her a few minutes of work to get properly positioned in the mornings. _How the hell did he do that?!_ The thought of the deft movement of his fingers sent a shiver of excitement through the entirety of her body.

Ken turned back to the tree eyed the bright gold star perched at its top. Thanks to his six-foot-plus frame he had no difficulty reaching up and tying the bow around it. He positioned the loose ribbons to drape down over the front of the branches. Then he stepped back and admired his handiwork.

"Um…" Mina was speechless. She wasn't sure if this was Ken's version of gently teasing her, or if he had just done something extremely heartfelt.

"I'd say that's a unique ornament and very personal." Ken congratulated himself and placed both hands on his hips, "Take that, Zora!"

"Ken…" Minako spoke softly; her voice trembled ever so slightly. She hated herself for cracking like that in front of him, so composed and cut-off as he was.

"Hmm?" he hummed easily.

"I wish you would show the others." She said quietly, insistently.

"Show them what?" he asked puzzled.

"This side of yourself." She finished, "I wish you'd show them that you…"

"Aren't boring?" he smiled.

"No." she chuckled slightly, "That you're… _You_."

"Mina." He said sternly, but not forcefully. It was a guarded tone of voice, but one that she recognized as only ever being used in her presence, "There are things I can't show everyone. At least not until we know what our future holds."

"Our future?" she winked at him.

"Everyone's future." He clarified, but still offered a slim smile, "You know what I mean."

"Yeah." She sighed in dutiful acknowledgement, "Frigging future…"

"Agreed." He bent down and whispered in her ear, over her shoulder, "But until then…"

"What?" she turned to catch him in one eye.

He sucked in a breath which he bleated out in the most dissonant, off-key way possible, _"I can show you the world…"_


	21. Day Nineteen

**Day Nineteen**

**Note: **This is the last of the image-based prompts from this year. This one was described as "Tastefully NSFW" just so you know! (Check the Shitennou-Ai LiveJournal archives for December 19, 2011 to see it.) It depicted, for lack of a better description, some Santa Claus themed lingerie…

**Who:** Zoisite, Nephrite  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Santa Claus Lingerie_

* * *

><p>Zora was not a very subtle man, a trait that was in direct opposition to his previous incarnation as Zoisite, the most covert and private of Endymion's knights. These days he tended to express his opinions exuberantly, announce his comings and goings at unnecessary levels of volume, and comment on just about everything that happened around him whether his thoughts were welcomed or not. He spoke loudly, dressed louder, and made it a point to inform anyone who would listen that he wouldn't be changing his ways any time soon.<p>

At least not until She requested it. _Please be a little quieter Zora, I'm trying to study_… _Yes, yes, we can be louder – _much_ louder – later tonight…_

He scolded himself for that minor fantasy. Certainly Ami Mizuno was an intriguing young woman, smart, intelligent, brainy, um... _very_ smart... but they were still mere acquaintances. They'd barely spoken beyond polite introductions. Hell, he wasn't even sure if it would be appropriate to get her a Christmas present since they'd only just arrived in Tokyo recently. The thought of presents refocused him on his mission: un-subtle as he was it came as no great surprise that Zora was the type to go rummaging in closets and crawlspaces trying to find what his fellow Shitennou had bought him for Christmas.

Ken was a dead end; even if Zora managed to find where he might have hidden their gifts he knew there would be no way he could peek without the elder man knowing. He would be able to tell if there was one extra crease in his wrapping paper of the just-so stack of presents was jostled by even a hair, so he didn't even bother. Jiro had also been surprisingly difficult considering the jubilant blonde was usually not so concerned about secrecy. It had taken a solid half hour of searching before he found the envelope expertly taped to the underside of the pedestal of his computer monitor. Jiro had opted to take the easy way out with gift cards to various boutique stores this year; obviously saving up his time and money finding a real crusher of a gift for the fiery if distant priestess that consumed his every waking thought…

But Neil, Zora had thought viciously, dear, sweet, unassuming, lazy Neil… He would simply pile up his gifts inside his closet. He wouldn't even give the subterfuge a second thought. Such was the thought on Zora's mind when he slid the door open and felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. Truly, Neil's closet was piled floor-to-ceiling with boxes; some were labeled to himself and the other men, but the vast majority were labeled with female names; Senshi names to be exact. They weren't wrapped yet as there were still several days until Christmas and Neil was nothing if not an expert procrastinator. His hands trembled as he removed a small black garment box from the pile which had Ami's name written on a small circular label.

After opening the box he had considered all options: land mines, trip wires, an Indiana Jones style face-melting booby trap, perhaps some sort of satellite-based space laser. There was no response of adequate ferocity to adequately express his rage and inconsolable grief at such a betrayal. He must have stood there seething, burning a hole in the carpet in abject fury for much longer than he'd realized because the telltale click of the front door lock snapped him from his daydreams of Christmas brutality. The heavy stride that followed and that devil-may-care jolly whistling signified the traitor's return. Vision clouded red and his brain on vengeful autopilot, Zora erupted out of the room like a lithe, coppery cruise missile and confronted the barbarian at the gate.

"You son of a bitch!" he shrieked and pounced as soon as the older, taller man was within range.

"What the hell? Why were you in my room?" Neil shouted as Zora began pounding on his chest with both fists, one grasping a rapidly disintegrating cardboard box, "Why are you hitting me?"

"How could you _do_ this, Neil?!" the younger man continued bawling and swinging, "What could have possibly possessed you?!"

"Why are you hitting me?" Neil asked again, utterly unmoved, "You know that doesn't hurt, right?"

"How the hell do you explain this?!" Zora fired back and held up the box which was little more than tatters.

"I ask again: What were you doing in my room?" Neil demanded.

"Looking for my Christmas presents!" Zora answered harshly heedless of incriminating himself, "Why the hell did you buy this?! Why?! FOR AMI?!"

Zora tore the shredded remains of the box away to reveal the contents: a candy-pink lingerie ensemble pattered after a skimpy version of the classic Santa Claus suit, complete with hat, gloves, and fluffy white trim around the scandalously small amount of silky fabric.

"You rat-bastard son of a bitch!" Zora continued his tirade, "I thought we were friends, Neil. I thought we were brothers! How could you do this to m—"

Neil's response to this assault was to wait patiently until Zora had finished venting his frustrations and then deliver a firm, open-palm swat straight across his mouthpiece. Startled, the younger man staggered backward and slapped a hand across his mouth in disbelief.

"First of all." Neil began slowly, "Stay the hell out of my room."

"But you—"

"Second." He cut him off, "I didn't buy lingerie for Ami or any of the other Senshi because I am not the world's creepiest and most desperate pervert." He made a motion with his thumb over one shoulder, "Usagi bought all that stuff a couple weeks ago when I took her shopping and she asked if she could hide it all here because apparently the girls are even worse than you when it comes to snooping for Christmas presents."

"But why…" Zora trailed off and stared in wide-eye disbelief at the risqué outfit, "Why would they buy something like this for Ami-chan? I she—I mean, is there… is there someone she's…"

"Maybe they thought it would loosen her up a bit." Neil assumed as he snatched garment out of his companion's hand, "Thanks for destroying the box. I'm sure Usagi won't notice…"

"What do you mean loosen her up?" Zora was confused and turned to follow Neil as he stalked down the hallway to his bedroom, "What for?"

"Gosh, I don't know Zora." Neil put on his most sardonic tone, "Maybe to see the look on your face when you go to visit Christmas morning and see her wearing _this_."

"What?" Zora didn't so much ask as stumble on his own brain.

"Yeah, way to ruin the surprise, idiot." Neil congratulated him and shut himself away in the room with a slam of the door for punctuation leaving Zora standing in the living room looking embarrassed, confused, and awkwardly aroused.


	22. Day Twenty

**Day Twenty**

**Note: **This is a silly sequel inspired by episode 31 of the classic anime. My Drabble!Verse doesn't take place in a specific continuity, so just roll with it!

**Who:** Mamoru, Usagi, Shitennou  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> A _Terrible Present_

* * *

><p>"Usako…" Mamoru sighed in his most placatory if exasperated tone of voice.<p>

"Don't worry, Mamo-chan!" the bubby blonde immediately countered, "They're going to love him!"

"What could have _possibly_ possessed you to think this was a good idea?" Mamoru continued his line of inquiry looking uncharacteristically disappointed with his beloved.

"Where else was he supposed to go?" Usagi countered and her face fell into that adorable pout that she was well aware made Mamoru utterly powerless, "With An-chan's parents working in another country and she going off to university they would have had to give him away to a shelter and that's no way to say goodbye to a cherished family member!"

Mamoru simply shrugged and looked down at the light gray lump on the carpet, or perhaps it was more aptly described as a blob. It had been a decade or more since the Sailor Senshi first came in contact with An Ohara, then just a young girl. Initially it was believed she was one of the Dark Kingdom's targets; a carrier of the mysterious Rainbow Crystals until it was revealed that she was merely the caretaker of the true carrier: an obese, if sprightly, gray feline who went by the terribly ostentations name of Rhett Butler. The cat moaned pleasantly in its sleep from where it lay on its back, stubby legs flared out like the points of a lazy compass.

The Sailor Senshi had met many people in all their years defending the world from the forces of darkness and some of those became lifelong friends and acquaintances. Even though An was not one of those who stayed in regular contact, Usagi was nothing if not heroic in her efforts to keep an eye on everyone she had saved in her long career as Sailor Moon. Remember that compassion (not to mention that steel trap of a mind that she displayed in these situations) Mamoru had to relent.

"I just don't know if springing a pet on them makes a good Christmas present." Mamoru argued, "They may not _want_ a pet; it's going to be a big responsibility."

"He's not a responsibility; he's just a big, old, soft, fuzzy ball of kitty-love!" Usagi cooed as she knelt down and nuzzled against Rhett Butler who purred excitedly in response, "And besides, he was a Rainbow Crystal carrier which means he's magic and special like us!"

"I wish you would have discussed it with me before you went over and adopted him." Mamoru declared, "Especially since they have… _history_."

"Only with Zoisite." Usagi reminded him, "And Zora isn't Zoisite; I'm sure Rhett-chan will be able to understand that, won't you, kitty-kitty?"

"I'll bet you a cup of hot cocoa that Ken is allergic to him." Mamoru folded his arms in defiance.

"Now you're just being silly, Mamo-chan." Usagi saw through his thin attempts at subterfuge, "But I will take that cup of cocoa!"

"Of course…" Mamoru caved at last, "But I'm warning you not to be disappointed if they freak out."

"They won't; I'm sure of it!" Usagi announced and clapped her hands together as if in prayer, "A cute, loyal, fuzzy animal like this will melt the hearts of even the biggest Scrooges on Christmas; even your four boys!"

"If you say so, love." Mamoru smiled.

And so it was that late Christmas morning as the twin drums of mulled wine and spiked eggnog from the night before were beating their painful rhythm around the collective skulls of the Shitennou that Usagi and Mamoru bid their happy farewell after dropping off the surprise gift complete with new jangly toys, and a new bed & litter box (both much to small for the bulky feline). Rhett Butler lay in his customary position, upside down and softly purr-moaning on the carpet in front of the apartment door of his new domain.

"Is it dead?" Jiro questioned from where he stood with the others at the perimeter of the living room opposite from where the gargantuan cat lay.

"At that size I'm surprised it isn't." Neil grunted.

"What are we supposed to do with it?" asked Jiro.

"Perhaps we can ask Usagi to rescind her kind gift." Ken suggested feebly, "I don't believe we possess the necessary… _temperament_… to care for this creature."

"Maybe we can give him to one of the other Senshi?" Jiro suggested.

"You can't re-gift a cat, idiot!" Neil barked and swatted Jiro in the back of the head.

"Ouch!" he snapped, "Well if you're so attached to him already, have fun cleaning the litter box!"

"Like hell." Neil batted him down, "If anything we're taking turns."

"I nominate Ken takes the first rotation!" Jiro exclaimed.

"I second." Neil added.

Ken ignored their antics since they wouldn't play a part in his decision making process anyway. Instead he turned to Zora who had been oddly silent during the whole affair. The younger man's face was white. White as a sheet. _White as a bowl of milk that creature will soon be slobbering all over my pristine kitchen…_ He thought sourly.

"Zora?" Ken jostled his shoulder.

"I think—" Zora squeaked. The normally exuberant man had retreated into himself like a terrified tortoise, "I think I _know_ this cat."

"And like _that_ we've solved our litter box problem!" Jiro laughed, snapping his fingers for effect.

After several more moments of bickering in which none of the Shitennou dared to inch closer than the room-width away from the harmless feline, the other three men shuffled back to their respective rooms leaving a petrified Zora standing alone. The heavy animal stretched and mewed (though it was more like the sound of a cow, not a cat) and rolled onto his side to face the young man. Zora was never particularly good with animals so he had trouble deciding if the look in the cat's deep brown eyes was one of lazy dismissal, or wrathful acknowledgement and the promise of retribution for past crimes.

"So." He said uneasily, rocking back and forth on his heels, "We meet again."


	23. Day Twenty-One

**Day Twenty-One**

**Who:** All  
><strong>When:<strong> Crystal Tokyo  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _The First Christmas in Crystal Tokyo_

* * *

><p>Kadeen (Ken to his friends on all days but special occasions) was always polite, always restrained, and always appropriate. He waited until a break in the collective reverie to rise from his seat at the long, red-and-green draped banquet table and then raised his glass.<p>

"I'd like to propose a toast."

"Yes!" Neil enthusiastically replied and swiped his glass off the table with such force that he splashed most the bubbly contents on his shirt, "I fucking love toast!"

His words were liquor-slurred to the point that only one other person could decipher it: "Ohmygodyessss…" Makoto drunkenly drawled along with him and took a big chomp out one of her homemade, fluffy, buttery dinner rolls, "How good is _bread_?"

"Man cannot live on bread alone is bullshit!" Neil declared saucily.

It had become something of a Christmas tradition over the years that he and Makoto would drink themselves to the point of unintelligibility. They were rather subdued drunks, more interested in their own private antics than involving anyone else so they tended not to get on everyone's nerves. And considering it was only a yearly indulgence even strictest members of their group gave them a pass. Ken didn't snicker considering their outburst interrupted his toast, but Rei did smile slightly.

"I'd like to propose a toast to friends." Ken continued, "And family."

"I'll drink to that." Jiro followed. Zora swatted his arm down.

"Wait 'til he's done!" he ordered.

"Don't swat me!"

"When we first returned to Tokyo I was unsure what sort of welcome we would receive, if any." The eldest Shitennou continued, "Certainly there has been… friction… between our groups in the past. I did not expect to be greeted with open arms or, to be apologetically unkind, open minds."

At that his gaze trailed to Minako who sat at his right gazing at him with unbridled admiration.

"But welcomed we were, even accepted over time." He genuinely smiled. It was the first time the entire assembled group had seen such an occurrence, "Jiro, Neil, Zora and myself –though we will soon reclaim the true names of our knighthood—we will never forget the lives that shaped us and brought us to this moment."

"We lived lives of hardship, of loneliness and sometimes desperation, but we also grew in understanding and compassion as we traveled the world and bore witness to its many struggles and sufferings. I believe that is why fate in her benevolence felt we could be offered yet another chance to serve." Ken turned to the man seated at the head of the table along with his radiant wife, "To find our Prince –our King—and be for him now what we had failed to be in the past. With him we found purpose and we found peace…"

He turned back to the table of gawking onlookers, "… But with the rest of you we found so much more."

"Mamoru… Endymion… he may be our Master, but his also our great friend. As is our new Queen." Ken smiled again, full of adulation, "I never thought to have closer connections than those I share with this man and my fellow Shitennou. I thought attachment would distract me from my duty, but it seems friendship, affection and…" he paused, weighing the word, "… love… can not be shut out forever, even by the stoniest of hearts."

"It's at Christmas time that I feel this most strongly: the sense of community, the sense of belonging." He finished at last, "You are my friends; you are my family. It's the greatest gift I've ever been given…" He gestured out the crystalline windows to the twinkling, celebrating city below, "We have inaugurated Crystal Tokyo, we have brought the entire world to the brink of an everlasting, self-sustaining peace. We have labored and toiled and finally after so much effort we can rejoice in the light and comfort of this, our new Silver Millennium."

"Let us drink to the future: one of hope and prosperity, of friendship and family." He turned once more to Minako, "And whatever else we wish it to be." He closed his eyes and took a sip of champagne. Without opening them again he added, almost a whisper, "I love you all…"

The silence which persisted for nearly a full minute was split by an ear-gouging wail. All turned to Usagi, soon to be crowned Neo-Queen Serenity, fearing that some unseen force of darkness had, during the course of Ken's speech, decided to forcibly tear off her arms or something equally vicious.

"KEN!" she wailed, sobbing, "That was buh- buh- _BEAUTIFUL_!"

"God damn, dude…" Neil whimpered from where his head was buried in chestnut curls and the crook of Makoto's neck. She too gazed ahead with a smile, eyes glassy and face full of emotion.

"Well spoken, Kadeen." Rei agreed and raised her glass to him.

"Yes." Mamoru added, wiping the wetness from his eyes and mightily failing at the pretense that he was keeping it together, "Very appropriate."

"I want to hug someone!" Jiro cried from his seat and, having no other recourse thanks to the seating arrangements, leaned over and gripped Zora in a clumsy bear hug.

"There, there…" Zora patted his partner on the arm and laughed. His eyes drifted across the table to the young woman opposite him.

"My sentiments exactly, Ken." Ami offered with an affectionate smile returned to Zora.

"Well." The baton was passed to Minako at last, "Not much I can say after that except… I love you all too." The table had a collective chuckle after than, but Minako wasn't finished, "And especially you, you giant, squishy, teddy bear of an idiot!" Ken's eyes widened in surprise at the accusation, "Stop making Usagi cry at Christmas!"

"I beg your pardon?" Ken shouted over the roar of laughter at the table, "I am _not_ squishy!"

"He's such a big softy!" Usagi giggled, finally coming out of her sobbing fit, "I told you, Mamo-chan!"

"I've known that since the Silver Millennium." Mamoru laughed, "Did I ever tell you about Kunzite's fascination with poetry?"

"Endymion!" Ken suddenly snapped to attention, shocked.

"_Writing_ poetry, mind you." His king clarified to another round of riotous glee, "He turned to poems when he realized he couldn't sing."

"Oh, do you remember any of them?" Ami asked, honestly interested in hearing them.

"I'm afraid not." Ken grumbled. He was having serious second thoughts about repealing his declaration of love for this table full of traitors.

"Well his singing has been steadily improving thanks to the efforts of the Goddess of Love and Beauty." Minako congratulated herself, "So later…"

"No." Ken immediately declined.

"When Haruka and Michiru get here…"

"No."

"They're going to bring their instruments…"

"No."

"And Ken is going to sing with them!"

"No."

"Oh come on, sour-puss!" Minako playfully batted his arm, "We've been practicing for this!'

"Singing songs from Disney musicals in the privacy of our apartment doesn't count as practice, Mina." Ken argued.

"You like _DISNEY MOVIES?!_" Usagi shrieked in hopeless delight, "Which one is your favorite?! I'll bet it's _Tangled_ because her hair reminds you of Mina-chan!"

Minako leaned back in her chair and surveyed her handiwork as Usagi launched into a litany of Disney-related questions, pressing Ken for answers that he was reluctant to give, but nevertheless _had_ answers to. When she caught Mamoru's eye she recognized the placid, easygoing expression he normally wore was now more poignant than ever. He nodded his appreciation and Minako returned his gratitude with a wink.

Several bowls of punch and several more bottles of champagne later (after the Outer Senshi arrived) Ken was leading the group in a caterwauling rendition of "White Christmas" which, thanks to the palace's impressive height and the sound-dampening qualities of its crystal construction, none of the outside world could hear. Otherwise the general population may have risen up to overthrow Queen Serenity and King Endymion before their peaceful reign ever began…


	24. Day Twenty-Two

**Day Twenty-Two**

**Who:** Makoto, Kunzite  
><strong>When:<strong> Silver Millennium  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Real candles on a real tree_

* * *

><p>No matter how many times she visited the Earth, Sailor Jupiter could still not quite get used to the sensation of setting foot on the green planet's surface (although now white with snow) after a trip through the enchanted portals. She was so used to the artificial gravity and sterile atmosphere of the Moon that on the Earth she always felt that she would float away on a breeze with one missed step. Thankfully she had learned to brace herself against the vertigo and no longer had to worry about incriminating herself by stumbling as she had that on that first, fateful trip when <em>He<em> was there to catch her…

He was not there today and instead she was greeted by the expressionless, if not completely emotionless, face of Endymion's most trusted knight, Kunzite.

"My Lady Jupiter." Kunzite greeted her cordially and bowed as was expected, "I would have though to find you here sooner."

"Apologies Master Kunzite." She deftly curtsied in return, "Serenity is becoming much more adept at slipping away from us unnoticed."

"Indeed." Kunzite spoke and she might have read ironic humor in his tone, "As are my men becoming much more adept at allowing her to roam where she pleases."

"Surely you don't believe her a threat?" Jupiter was taken aback.

"No, of course not, my Lady." Kunzite assured her, "But it would be a less than agreeable arrangement for both of our worlds should Serenity's presence here be discovered by any of the common folk." Kunzite snorted ruefully, "Perhaps my men need to be reminded of this… forcibly."

"I do hope you will show some restraint, my Lord Kunzite." Jupiter laughed slightly, "Since I will most likely hear of your cruel taskmaster's ways and be forced to confront you about them…" Kunzite cracked a small smile at that, "Might I inquire as to Nephrite's whereabouts this evening?"

The elder king ushered her off the dais, noticing but not commenting on the familiarity with which she spoke his colleague's name, "Unfortunately he had some affairs to deal with in the western regions of the kingdom these past weeks; we expect him to return in time for the Yule festival."

"I see." She accepted the news with a twinge of disappointment.

"So unfortunately your evening will have to be spent in the company of his cruel taskmaster." Kunzite cordially stated.

"A privilege beyond compare!" Jupiter equaled his snarkiness.

"How fares your Queen?" Kunzite shifted the conversation as they began walking through the concealed garden towards the palace proper.

"Very well, thank you." She answered him, "As patient and powerful as ever… and surely very much aware of her daughter Serenity's antics down here on Earth."

"Which makes your nightly retrievals and attempts at secrecy something of a farce, wouldn't you say?" Kunzite tittered.

"It does seem rather pointless when you take a step back." Jupiter agreed and then smiled fondly, "But also terribly romantic."

"I…" Kunzite stalled. She knew such talk always gummed up the gears of the precision clockwork that was his mind, "I cannot comment in that regard."

"Well that's a shame." Jupiter pretended to pout, "Perhaps Lady Venus was mistaken as to the depth of your emotion, what with the bouquets of flowers and the poetry—"

"Is there _nothing_ I can share in privacy that will not become common knowledge with her?" Kunzite grumbled as they continued along.

"Common knowledge only to the other princesses, I assure you." Jupiter giggled at his unkempt reaction, "Your secrets are safe with us."

"Hmpf…" the knight snorted, "We shall see."

As the palace loomed into view Jupiter was again struck by its beauty as the whole structure glowed golden in the twilight. On the Moon the predominant motif was silver crescents. The light was pale and cold, but still beautiful. The crystalline towers and snow-white pillars lent an ethereal atmosphere which was appropriate for a kingdom planted squarely in the midst of the blasted, harsh landscape of a frozen lunar desert. Unfortunately the barrenness of the domed kingdom could make outside observers perceive it as a place of isolation and disconnection. Here on Earth however, the overriding mood was golden, warm, and inviting. It was unashamedly an environment the nature-loving princess of Jupiter preferred over the icy sterility of the Silver Millennium.

The city streets and markets were always bustling, the crowds always loud, and the excitement was always palpable. It was doubly so around the time of their winter Yule holiday in which strangers greeted each other with cheerfulness, their arms laden with gifts for their loved ones and the makings of succulent celebratory feast. Every hearth and heart seemed full of jubilant warmth which helped to stave off the snow and bitter cold of the season. She fell in love with the holiday the first time she experienced; Nephrite had introduced her to almost every aspect of the celebration including the food which she found both exotic and terribly addictive with gingerbread becoming an almost immediate obsession.

"Kunzite?" she asked after a few moments of companionable silence, "Where did your Yule traditions originate?"

"Everywhere." He answered cryptically, "Each region of the kingdom celebrates the turning of the seasons in its own way. Over time these traditions traveled and crossed borders, changed and evolved. The Yule celebration in the Golden Kingdom is something unique, however."

"How so?"

"It does not incorporate the beliefs and any particular faith or creed." Kunzite explained, "It's not a religious holiday. It is simply a celebration of oneness as a people, a celebration of family and friends."

"It is a most wonderful time of year." She said, feeling a strange sense of reverse déjà vu.

"It is." Kunzite agreed, "However it can also be a time of great sadness." He frowned, "The Yule is a time of reflection on all things, both good and bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Look here." He gestured to the pine trees that lined the path up to the gates of the Golden Palace. Each tree was decorated with small white candles, each set in a reflective holder so their light would be magnified.

"I've heard others refer to the Yule as a festival of light." Jupiter commented.

"The candles are made by artisans in the city throughout the year." Kunzite elaborated, "Each family is allotted however many they require. The candle-makers give them freely, but even so the people make a small donation, whatever they can afford."

"I take it they are symbolic of something?" Jupiter rightly guessed.

"Each candle represents a person." The elder knight continued, "Each member of a family. The mothers and sons and distant cousins… Each candle is a commemoration of life for both the living and the departed."

"I can see how joy could be mingled with grief during such a celebration." Jupiter spoke in a melancholy tone.

"The candles are meant to act as a beacon to guide all spirits home." He continued, "But this is not all I wished to show you."

"No?" she wondered.

Kunzite led her gently by the hand around the right side of the palace. Immense as it was, it took many minutes of walking to finally turn the corner of the white-gold estate. The palace was perched atop an outcropping of rock and it faced towards the city with its rear walls turned to a wooded valley below. When Sailor Jupiter stepped to the edge of the balcony and peered over her breath was lost at the sight.

Tall conifers lined the walls of the valley below, each one glowing resplendently in the cold darkness of the night from hundreds of candles. The sea of light stretched out and up the side of the valley until the tree line terminated at stony cliffs.

"The candles on these trees are reserved in memory of the souls we have lost in battle." Kunzite spoke evenly, "We have endured much strife and sacrifice to bring the Earth into a state of harmony and oneness. The Golden Kingdom may be our birthright, but these trees are our legacy…"

"There are so many lights." Jupiter's voice wavered as she spoke.

"We may not fight amongst ourselves anymore, but we are still waging costly battles against interlopers from beyond the Earth and against these so-called _youma_, born of a demon from the Sun if you believe the folk tales." Kunzite told her plainly, "We must never forget that without the sacrifices these lights commemorate there would not be a Yule festival to enjoy at all."

Jupiter was silent then with no appropriate words coming to mind in light of the heartfelt display. Finally after what seemed like minutes she softly said, "Thank you."

"For what?" Kunzite was confused.

"For being the men that you are." She clarified, "Endymion was wise to surround himself with such honorable knights."

"We only do our duty, my Lady." Kunzite countered, "Same as your devotion to your Princess."

"Indeed." She agreed, "And thank you for showing me this." She gestured out to the valley of light below, "I think now I finally understand what struggles the Earth has endured."

"Thank you for being one who would listen." Kunzite bowed to his guest, "And now if the night air has chilled you sufficiently as it has me, perhaps we can retire to the hearth? I believe I know where Nephrite keeps his stash of cider and mulled wine."

"That would be lovely." She accepted politely and nodded as she was ushered inside. At that point there was no reason to stand on ceremony any longer and she spun on her heels, greedily inquiring, "Would happen to know where the hides the gingerbread as well?"


	25. BONUS: Valentine's Day

**Note:** Hey all! I know this technical the Advent Drabblender and all the other stories are Christmas themed, but I owed Charlie Chaplin 2 a drabble featuring Nephrite & Kunzite and I figured sliding it in here as a Valentine's Day themed drabble would be acceptable. Takes place in the same Drabblender-verse as the other stories. Hope you dig it!

**Who:** Kunzite, Nephrite  
><strong>When:<strong> Modern  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> _Valentine's Day Hangover_

* * *

><p>"Dude." The voice rang across the misty haze of his barely conscious mind like a hammer striking an anvil, "You up?"<p>

"Mmmrff…" was the dude's reply.

"Wake up." The cheerful if gruff voice ordered, "I got breakfast."

Ken's eyes wearily slid open and the intrusion of light and nearly put him down for the count. He blinked and blinked and blinked again as the engine of gray matter that powered his exhausted body sputtered into gear.

"Why?" he groaned accusatorily.

"Here." Neil shoved a white Styrofoam carryout container in front his companion's scowling face, "It's biscuits & gravy."

"Get that garbage away from me." Ken denied what any other man in his position would have considered heavenly manna in his desert of a hangover, "Water."

"Water takes too long." Neil argued, "And it won't help the headache like this."

"I don't have a headache." Ken told him and dragged a filthy hand across his stubbled face.

"You just woke up. It'll take, oh…" Neil checked the time on his phone, "Give it another thirty seconds for the neurons to wake up screaming."

"At least you're an expert at something." Ken dismissed him.

"It's a proven fact that the thicker and greasier the meal the greater the alcohol absorption." Neil countered and jostled the container again, "Eat."

"I don't think that's how it works." Ken voiced his opinion but nonetheless took the container.

"It's got something to do with sugars and electrolytes and ketones." Neil told him and plopped down beside his suffering companion.

"Do you even know what ketones are?' Ken inquired.

"It's the non-technical term for when you play a note on a piano." Neil replied evenly.

"Probably." Ken agreed and eyed the heap of grayish sludge in the box savoring the decadent scent without betraying it to Neil.

"Fork?" Neil offered the white utensil from the inside pocket of his coat.

"It looks used." Ken turned his nose up at it.

"So do you." Neil chided and Ken reluctantly accepted the fork.

For several long moments and several unbecoming mouthfuls the two men sat in silence. Or as silent as a hung over, half-starved titan of a man wolfing down a whole helping of sausage gravy and biscuits could be.

"Coffee." Ken suddenly demanded and handed Neil the empty container.

"I didn't get any, sorry." He apologized sheepishly.

"What the hell…" Ken complained and patted down his person for something – anything to drink. Neil's hand once again appeared in front of him presenting a brushed silver flask.

"Are you damaged?" Ken immediately turned it down and his complexion soured with a green hue.

"Hair of the dog."

"Stop." Ken ordered and shieled his eyes.

"Suit yourself." Neil shrugged and took a slug from the flask, "Oh sister bourbon how far we've come together."

"Why didn't you stop me?" Ken demanded and leaned forward with a groan; the dense breakfast struggling to settle a stomach that until recently contained what he assumed was pure ethanol.

"I did." Neil defended.

"Bullshit." He glared at him through one angry sliver on an eye.

"I stopped you after three beers just like you said." Neil reminded him, "At seven-fucking-thirty before the band even started playing."

"There was a band?" Ken shook his head and immediately regretted the motion.

"Oh yeah there was a band." Neil whistled, "And you were their biggest fan."

"What?" Ken's mind was blank. For a man with an eidetic memory that was… worrisome.

"Danced all night." Neil recalled fondly.

"I did not." Ken straightened considerably a shiver ran down his spine.

"Dude, you were practically on the stage with them." Neil laughed, "The bartender comped your tab because he thought you were with the band."

"I don't…" Ken trailed off.

"And then of course there's the tattoo…"

"I DIDN'T?!" Ken jerked up in his seat and his hands wildly traced from his shoulders down to his calves as Neil howled with laughter.

"No, you didn't." he choked, "Relax."

"Bastard." Ken settled back down in his seat and then resumed his hunched-over position.

Neil leaned over and whispered in one ear past a layer of stringy, sweat-stained white hair, "But you did dance."

"How did you let this happen?" Ken groaned, "I trusted you."

"I did stop you, Ken." Neil was firm.

"And then what?" Ken led the question.

"And then I saw you sitting in the corner like a sad sack, sober and depressed." Neil revealed.

"I am not a sad sa—"

"Because once again you're spending Valentine's Day alone."

"By choice, so—"

"And I said, _"Ken old buddy, old pal, why the long face?""_

"Neil…"

"_Has the Goddess of Love and Beauty left you flying solo yet again?"_

"That's none of your—"

"I said, _"She warned you that she'd be out of town a lot, especially around the holidays."_

"I know…"

"And that's the price you pay for dating a girl who spent her whole life dreaming of being an idol."

"I don't regret—"

"So I asked, _"Ken, why don't you come join me at the bar and we'll replace those blues with some brown?"_

Ken paused for a moment, mouth open expecting his next words to be interrupted yet again, "… And?"

"And you said," Neil smiled proudly, _"Why not?"_

Ken snorted to himself and Neil registered the noise as laughter. He older man finally straightened from his slump and the color slowly began to return to his face. Even disheveled from a night of hard drinking Neil had to admit that his fellow Shitennou's commanding presence had not diminished. His gunmetal gray eyes were foggy with residual grogginess, but no less intense.

"If it's any consolation to your weary mind, she gave her consent." Neil reported.

"What?"

"Minako." His companion replied and for the first time Ken noted he was wearing a thick winter coat and a wooly scarf which partially obscured his torrent of whiskey colored hair, "She gave us her blessing."

"Why would tell her…" Ken complained and threatened to slump into his man-pretzel position again.

"So it wouldn't come as a surprise if you ended up in the hospital or a drunk tank." Neil admitted, "And to let her know that you were still thinking about her on Valentine's Day."

"By getting shitfaced with you?" Ken spat.

"By having a night out with your best friend, content that the love of your life is pursuing her dreams and you hate being separated, but you're such a supportive rock of a man that you soldier through with silent endurance and would _never_ want to her to worry that you were sad and can't function properly without her."

_God damn it._ Ken thought to himself. Neil was a bastard, but damn it if he wasn't an insightful bastard.

"You don't have to thank me." Neil reminded him.

"I won't." Ken agreed.

"I mean, it wouldn't hurt…" Neil nudged him, "You don't want to miss your chance."

"What time is it?" Ken ignored him.

"Uh, it's like… midnight?" Neil guessed and rooted around in his pocket for his phone.

"Midnight?" Ken gasped, "How long was I out?!"

"Well there were a few time zone changes…" Neil confessed, "I'm not sure."

"Time zones?" Ken asked breathlessly.

He finally stopped and took in his surroundings. They were seated in a mostly deserted concourse. The giant windows opened towards the flashing lights of an airport and the bright skyline of an unfamiliar, bustling city beyond. The two or three other travelers in the terminal ignored them completely and several of them were asleep.

"Where the hell are we?" Ken demanded.

"Philadelphia." Neil answered casually.

"PHILADELPHIA?!" Ken thundered. One of the other travelers in the terminal awoke with a start at the force of his voice.

"Dude, calm down." Neil tried to assuage him.

"Why the _hell_ are we in America?!" Ken roared.

"Because _YOU_." Neil faced him down with his own not inconsiderable anger, "Wanted a _CHEESESTEAK_."

"A- a… cheesesteak?" Ken stuttered, all semblance of order and normalcy drained from his brain.

"You said you never had one before." Neil shrugged honestly.

"You flew us all the way to America for a sandwich?" Ken shook his head in disbelief. Neil was honestly concerned his old friend was about to break down in tears.

"A cheesesteak." Neil corrected. "Don't let them hear you call it a mere sandwich."

"How much?" Ken seethed.

"I don't know, you've got Geno's or you've got Pat's and—" Neil began.

"How much." Ken hissed through gritted teeth, "Did this cost me?"

"I put it on my card you giant baby." Neil talked him down, "Where's your sense of adventure, man?"

"Apparently I left it in Tokyo along with your better sense." Ken shifted his weight slightly away from Neil.

"Just think of how excited Minako will be when she comes home and tells you all about her trip to London!" Neil encouraged him, "You'll have a story of your own for once!"

"Or she'll see that story on the news after I murder you for incompetence." Ken deadpanned.

"Don't be a bitch." Neil ordered and stood up, "It's okay to be excited for yourself for a change."

"Can you give me one good reason why you thought this was a good idea?" Ken asked exasperated.

Neil liked his lips and grinned wide with satisfaction, "Why not?"

At then Ken could only sigh and stood to join his friend, unsteadily at first thanks to the hangover and weakness of an oncoming breakfast coma. Neil reached out to steady him and Ken surveyed his immediate area for… something. Anything.

"Luggage?" he asked.

"What for?" Neil wondered, "We're here for cheesesteak."

"You—" Ken was ready to boil over with rage, but swallowed it bitterly instead. Neil just continued grinning like an idiot and finally he relented, "Fine."

"That's the spirit!" Neil laughed and walloped him in the arm. Painfully.

"So." Ken grumbled if only to keep up the façade of his annoyance, "Pat's or Geno's?"

That argument lasted until they touched down again in Tokyo twenty four hours and two cheesesteaks apiece later.


End file.
